Olivia Cooke says the online fandom around “House of the Dragon” has turned ugly, calling it steeped in misogyny and racism. The actress, who plays Alicent Hightower in the “Game of Thrones” prequel, made the comments in a GQ interview published Monday. She described a culture in which viewers’ readings of events spread until they bear little resemblance to what appeared on screen. She said she tries to give the discourse as little mental space as possible, and that the backlash helped persuade her to deactivate her social media accounts during her break.
The criticism followed a third season that aired over the summer and divided viewers. Much of the anger centered on Alicent. One storyline had her share a reluctant kiss with her son Aemond, played by Ewan Mitchell, and a later dream sequence showed the two having sex. Showrunner Ryan Condal defended the kiss despite the outcry, which has no basis in George R.R. Martin’s source material.
Departures from the books have fueled complaints across all three seasons. Martin himself has criticized the show’s choices, though not Cooke’s performance. After the second-season finale he used his blog to object to the changes made to the Blood and Cheese sequence and warned of larger problems if further planned alterations went ahead.
Condal has projected confidence. Before the finale aired, he called it “the best thing that we’ve made thus far,” while acknowledging how much the fan base invests in the season-ending episodes. The finale, “The Treasons at Tumbleton,” carried major character deaths and prompted fans to flag new departures from Martin’s “Fire & Blood.” The tension will outlast the summer. Season 4 will be the last and will run eight episodes. Condal has said it will most likely arrive in 2028, though HBO has not set a date.
Cooke’s remarks put a face on a problem that actors in large franchises rarely discuss on the record. Her stance is practical rather than combative. She does not argue with critics or defend each scene. She limits how much of the conversation she lets in, a boundary she enforced by logging off. HBO has not publicly responded to her comments in the coverage reviewed.
