Anna Gunn played Skyler White on the hit TV show Breaking Bad. When the show was on air, many people criticized Skyler’s character. Gunn felt hurt by the negative comments.
But now, Gunn says people’s attitudes have changed. They understand the difficult situation Skyler was in. She was trying to get her husband Walt (played by Bryan Cranston) to do the right thing.
In an interview, Gunn said she didn’t pay much attention to the controversy at first because she wasn’t on social media back then. But when she read the comments, it made her question herself and her acting.
The show’s creator said no matter how bad Walt became, fans still supported him. Gunn said she had to “go through that ring of fire” and deal with the abuse, much of which was misogynistic.
Gunn is proud that more actresses have created strong female characters over the years. She wrote about the Skyler backlash in 2013 to help her daughters understand what was happening.
Part of the reason people were so mean was because of internet anonymity. But Gunn said online threats still scared her, so she spoke up about it.
Nowadays, Gunn notices a shift in how people view Skyler. Fans tell her Skyler was the “conscience of the show” and that on re-watching, they realized “that poor woman” was just trying to do the right thing.