Overwatch Brigitte Voice Actress Thanks the Community in This Video

Matilda Smedius, the voice actress behind Overwatch character Brigette Lindholm, recently addressed some of the harassment she has experienced as some fans have misdirected their issues with the character to her directly. Smedius parsed out her thoughts on the issue in the YouTube video above, with the goal of thanking fans and the community for the support.

In the video, Smedius wrestles with the issue of sometimes feeling bogged down by the scrutiny she faces, but never wanting to seem ungrateful or allow the community to forget how happy she is to have this opportunity.

The original screenshot she tweeted out was one of the many messages she has received. It read as follows: “just letting you know that Brigitte destroyed Overwatch and the meta.” In her video, Smedius contextualized the screenshot by adding that it “wasn’t worse than anything else. I’ve seen worse. Way worse. But it caught my eye somehow. It’s just ridiculous to me.”

Ultimately, Smedius doesn’t want to focus to be on the negativity she faces. Her tweet was just a way for her to “vent,” and she’s thankful for the overwhelming response. At the same time, she mentioned that, when her tweet was shared in the Overwatch subreddit, a few accused her of being “an attention whore [who] plays the victim.”

While the video is focused on gratitude and expanding on her thoughts in a format that’s more structured and premeditated than a series of tweets, Smedius clearly wants empathy. She wants people to remember she’s still a person who has feelings, because no level of commercial success can take that away.

I guess what I’m trying to say is I am a 21-year old whose life got changed a year ago and I’m so happy for all the experiences that I’ve gotten and I’m so thankful for everything and I’m so glad to be part of this family but it has been a lot and it’s been stressful. It’s been a ride to say the least. And I guess I just want to be liked, who doesn’t? I want people to be happy and spread love and positivity.

Smedius admitted that she recorded this “so many times now and that it always ends up in [her] crying.” But it wasn’t over the harassment. Tears came at the end as she reflected on the voice actors she has met, the friends she has made, and the fans that make it worth it.

[Source: Resetera]