Audiences’ perception of Skyler White, the character portrayed by Anna Gunn in the acclaimed AMC series ‘Breaking Bad,’ is undergoing a seismic transformation. More than a decade after the show’s finale, Gunn, a two-time Emmy Award winner for her role as Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) wife, opened up about the misogynistic backlash her character received from a significant portion of the show’s fanbase.
Recalling a 2013 op-ed she penned for The New York Times, Gunn delved into the ‘vitriolic response’ Skyler drew as Walter’s effective antagonist. While Gunn admitted that choosing to engage with the discourse surrounding Skyler ‘was probably a mistake,’ she also acknowledged that it prompted her to ‘think, ‘Well, is it me?”
‘I really just had to go through that ring of fire, for lack of a better phrase, to understand that a lot of it was, frankly, misogynistic,’ Gunn added. ‘A lot of it was the way that female characters were treated, and I think we’ve come a long way since then. If I may call them my sisters, I’m really proud of all the actresses who’ve spoken up and continued to pave the way and created their own antihero characters for themselves.’
Gunn highlighted the once-prevalent nature of ‘threatening’ and ‘violent’ online comments about Skyler, which deeply troubled her. ‘I just didn’t want to feel bullied by all that, and I felt that it was my responsibility to stand up and answer to it, which is what I did,’ she explained.
However, Gunn now observes ‘seismic changes’ in the cultural landscape, leading to a reassessment of Skyler’s character and newfound appreciation. ‘People come up to me now and say, ‘You were the linchpin for me. You were the conscience of the show. You were what pulled me into the show,” Gunn shared. ‘Or they say, ‘The first time I watched it, I hated that character. But the second time I watched it, I realized, oh my God, that poor woman.”
