Emmy-nominated actress Anna Gunn fears for her safety as angry Breaking Bad fans bombarded her with online abuse over their hatred for her character. In an article for New York Times she writes that the role of Skyler is “one of the most rewarding creative journeys” of her career but there are quite a few websites devoted to attacking her character and Anna is worried.
She said: “At some point on the message boards, the character of Skyler seemed to drop out of the conversation, and people transferred their negative feelings directly to me. The already harsh online comments became outright personal attacks. One such post read: ‘Could somebody tell me where I can find Anna Gunn so I can kill her?’ Besides being frightened (and taking steps to ensure my safety), I was also astonished: How had disliking a character spiraled into homicidal rage at the actress playing her?”
“As an actress, I realize that viewers are entitled to have whatever feelings they want about the characters they watch. But as a human being, I’m concerned that so many people react to Skyler with such venom. Could it be that they can’t stand a woman who won’t suffer silently or ‘stand by her man’? That they despise her because she won’t back down or give up? Or because she is, in fact, Walter’s equal?,” Anna concluded.