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Stephanie Tyler Jones, the lady behind Mary Jane Watson’s face in Insomniac’s Spider-Man video games, just lately mentioned she’s acquired harassment from followers, together with telephone calls to her office the place callers demand to talk to her. In a public publish on social media, she requested these followers to cease.
Within the authentic Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 and its subsequent ports, spin-offs, and sequel, Jones offered the face mannequin of Peter Parker’s well-known girlfriend, MJ. Whereas Laura Bailey offered the voice of MJ, it was Jones’ face that impressed the character’s in-game mannequin. On account of this, Jones has grow to be well-known within the Spider-Man neighborhood. However just lately, some followers went too far, in keeping with Jones, and began calling her day job and leaving voicemails that made her really feel “unsafe” and “uncomfortable.”
On January 8, Jones posted a brief, public letter on Instagram detailing what occurred and asking followers to respect her boundaries and to cease messaging her about MJ and Spider-Man.
“Over the weekend, some followers crossed boundaries,” Jones mentioned. “One even went to the extent of calling my office and leaving a number of voicemails wanting to talk with me and requesting I name again, which is unacceptable and regarded stalking.”
Whereas she does “recognize” the optimistic response her model of MJ has acquired from gamers over time, she is now not actively auditioning, appearing, or modeling. As a substitute, she now works in skincare, which is why, she requested followers to respect her profession change and never message her skincare-focused Instagram or job.
“My skincare web page isn’t for Spider-Man or MJ followers,” Jones posted. “Backside line is that I got here into work this morning and instantly felt unsafe and uncomfortable listening to these voicemails.”
Jones ended the letter asking for followers and gamers to “respect that I’m a human being attempting to make a dwelling similar to you” and “kindly” requested them to cease messaging her.
“Messages is not going to be answered,” Jones mentioned. “I’ll block you when you make me really feel uncomfortable and you’ll unfollow me if this disappoints you.”
Whereas what occurred to Jones is horrible and irritating, it’s sadly a standard incidence in online game communities and fandoms. Gamers have despatched harassing messages and threats to builders, voice actors, and others merely as a result of they don’t like a recreation or a personality. We’ve additionally seen Twitch streamers report stalkers from inside their neighborhood, in a transparent instance of followers forgetting the folks on-screen are people, too. Kotaku has contacted Insomniac, PlayStation, and Jones’ former expertise company for remark.
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