One character in Baldur’s Gate 3 has been getting a lot of hate since the game’s full release. Unlike the game’s more polarizing characters (e.g., Astarion, Shadowheart, Gale), Lae’zel is just straight-up ignored and disliked by many. This isn’t just anecdotal. Week one game stats revealed Lae’zel as the least-picked Origin Character. Additionally, of the 1.6 million-plus original characters made, less than 30,000 people chose to play as one of her race, the Githyanki.
Voiced by Devora Wilde, the Gith Fighter is verbally brash (especially regarding sex) and proud of her race’s combat prowess. She’s not just talking the talk, either. Without heavy modification, Lae’zel is the strongest playable character from the jump, boasting a strength score of 17 out of 20. Wilde decided to respond to this disdain in a manner made popular by Jimmy Kimmel Live! That is, by reading some of the mean tweets about her character over the sounds of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts.” And she did so as Lae’zel herself:
@thisisdevo Lae’zel disapproves #fyp #laezel #baldursgate3 #baldursgate #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #meantweets #bg3 #bg3fam? #roast ♬ Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.
I can’t even say she read them for filth because Lae’zel doesn’t care enough about anyone (at first) to expend much vocal effort. In fact, for much of Act 1, as with Shadowheart, you have to really work to pull information out of her. Want to compare Lae’zel to Morrigan from Origins, but annoying? Lae’zel will retort, “Don’t know what Morrigan is. Neither do I care.” Mad that she doesn’t want to talk to you after you decline her offer to bed? Lae’zel lets you know: “You turn down Lae once, you turn down Lae forever.” Lamenting that she’s hard to please? Bae’zel responds with a smirk, “I wonder why that is.” Overall, like her in-game iteration, Lae’zel doesn’t care about your opinions at all because she doesn’t know you. She doesn’t care that you desperately want to see her humbled and perform coyness. Even if she did know you, the clap backs will keep coming.
Why do people hate Lae’zel?
I love that Wilde chose to perform with a filter shrinking her nose and elongating her philtrum to look more like Lae’zel. These tweets don’t just reflect a incidental dislike of Lae’zel. The main reason people complain about her is because she has the audacity to be rude (like Astarion and Shadowheart) without also being conventionally attractive (like Astarion and Shadowheart). The warrior has several sharp teeth, battle scars, and a bat-like nose. There are already player-made mods to specifically make Lae’zel’s nose more human-like. The misogyny may not stop with Lae’zel as there are several modes of de-aging exclusive to female characters. Still, she gets the worst of it.
This attitude reflects people’s inability to recognize Lae’zel’s humanity and empathize with her despite the very obvious tension in Act 1. Her big moment during Act 2 solidified her as a fave for me. (Alongside my vampire, of course.) However, there’s plenty of opportunity to see the character become unexpectedly vulnerable when you start to meet other Gith in Act 1. Just by paying attention, you’ll see that, like Tieflings who engage in crime, Lae’zel’s coarseness is a product of her environment. Despite that (and her slut-shaming), she’s very pragmatic and otherwise pretty loyal.
One of the funniest—and most frustrating—tweets read by Wilde suggested Lae’zel was too annoying to wait for her to get “really good after season 4.” This viral comment got the attention of BG3 players and writers days ago, sparking a larger discussion about how, even when they’re written identically, women and men characters are treated differently by fans. On Twitter, Dragon Age co-creator David Gaider shared that this is a recurring issue regardless of audience. Based on the comments under Wilde’s TikTok, it looks like her video encouraged more people to “give the green lizard a chance.”
(via @thisisdevo on TikTok, featured image: Larian Studios)
