The key facts

  • Olivia Cooke has left social media due to the toxic House of the Dragon fandom
  • The actress said the fandom is “steeped in misogyny” and contains “a lot of racism”
  • House of the Dragon has aired on HBO since 2022 and won a Golden Globe and two Emmy awards

The actress has left social media

Actress Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower — the second wife of King Viserys I Targaryen — in the series House of the Dragon, has left social media because of the behavior of the show's fans. Variety quotes her words. “There is a lot of ugliness in this fandom. It is steeped in misogyny. There is a lot of racism there. I try not to let it take up much space in my head”, the actress explained.

A positive experience on set

Despite the negative experience with part of the audience, Cooke named her collaboration with director Clare Kilner as the positive side of working on the show. “She proves that you don't have to stomp around the set and display testosterone. Every department can be treated with kindness and care,” the actress said.

About the series and the actress's earlier statements

House of the Dragon premiered on HBO in 2022 as a prequel to Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's book Fire & Blood about the fall of the Targaryen dynasty. The series received three Golden Globe nominations, winning the category for Best Drama Series, as well as 14 Emmy nominations and two awards — for costumes and makeup. Earlier, in 2024, Cooke said that a “filthy” sex scene had been cut from the series, which, according to her, “was fun to shoot”.