House of the Dragon star limits social media after online harassment from fans
HBOHouse of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel has limited comments on his Instagram account after fans of the show have harassed him online.
Frankel plays Criston Cole in the Game of Thrones spinoff. A character who, over the course of House of the Dragon Season 2, has quickly become the most hated of all.
After turning against Rhaenyra Targaryen, falling into a sexual relationship with Alicent Hightower, and stealing Otto Hightower‘s job as Hand of the King, Cole has fast become a pariah among viewers.
However, the vitriol towards his character has now leaked into real life. On Frankel’s Instagram account, comments have been limited after a wave of aggressive and hateful remarks made their way onto his profile.
The comments include hatred towards his character but are directed at Frankel himself. As such, the actor has limited what people can write, and it’s ignited a baffled response online.
“People are so parasocial towards fictional characters man, Jesus Christ,” said one X user.
“People are not okay!!!” wrote another. “This continues to be a problem where you guys can’t differentiate between characters and actors they play. What’s not clicking for you all?!?! Do you not have friends in real life?!”
One added: “It’s wild that fandom hasn’t changed at all since Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best were bullied. Frankly, probably worse. It’s easy to say this is a literacy problem but these people are just f**king dumb.”
“It’s a shame that there is mass psychosis that prevents people from realizing that if they really dislike an unlikeable character it’s because the actor is doing a good job pretending to be unlikeable,” said a fourth.
This isn’t the first time an actor has received hate for playing a character. Just earlier this month, one member of the Furiosa cast had to issue a statement, asking fans not to confuse him with his on-screen villain.
Frankel isn’t even the first actor in the Game of Thrones universe to be attacked for his on-screen persona, with Joffrey actor Jack Gleeson getting the bulk of hate during Game of Thrones.
Check out our House of the Dragon Season 2 release schedule to see when the new episode is out. You can also check out our Season 2 Episode 2 recap for more details, or learn more about Hugh Hammer and Alyrie Florent.