Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon': Why did Emily Carey delete her Twitter account?
British actress and 'House of the Dragon' star Emily Carey deleted her Twitter account after facing severe backlash about "humanizing" her antagonist character, according to reports. This comes on the back of the controversy during the San Diego Comic-Con in July when the 19-year-old was present with the cast members of the 'Game of Thrones' prequel.
Carey plays the younger version of Lady Alicent Hightower, the daughter of the King's Hand Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans). She was portrayed as Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Milly Alcock) childhood and best friend, but soon gets locked in the succession struggle that follows. While there are enough fans already torn between the Targaryens and the Hightowers, it was Carey's innocuous comment that irked Rhaenyra fans.
RELATED ARTICLES
Why did Emily Carey delete her Twitter?
"There were some gaps that we had to fill, so to figure it all out I sort of started journaling, and … managed to come up with some form of backstory, and it proved to be very useful,” Carey explained. “I’ve never had the freedom to create a whole human being like this before. So it was so much fun being able to go so in-depth with her.” She also added that Alicent was "multifaceted" and that it helped her understand her character deeper and better. “There are so many layers to her. I think lots of people are already expecting her to be the villain of the show, but I think bringing her in younger, there was a lot more to explore,” she said.
The backlash that followed saw the actress delete her Twitter account. Her feed, she said was filled with negative comments where fans slammed her for not fully comprehending the original source material. “I love social media. I’m 19, so I’m all on social media, and I’ve been on social media since I was a kid because I’ve worked since I was a kid so I’m very conscious of things,” Carey told News.com.au. “Any hate that comes in, it’s just … It’s a person behind a screen. You just have to move on from it,” she opined.
“But I will say I did delete Twitter [after Comic-Con] because it’s just so loud. Even when it’s good, there’s so many and it’s so loud.” Carey also added, “I love the buzz, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it can be overwhelming, and that’s me being completely transparent.”
'House of the Dragon' airs on Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.