Shortly after the House of the Dragon season three trailer, Alicent Hightower star Olivia Cooke has deactivated her Instagram account, and fans are bringing up her comments about the “horrible” treatment of the cast. HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel is set to return on 22nd June, and it’s one of the most anticipated yet after season two stopped short of delivering the large-scale battle we were hoping for. But with the Dance of the Dragons now fully underway, the next chapter is set to plunge Westeros into an all-out war. At the centre of that conflict is Alicent, whose decisions in backing her son’s claim and navigating the growing violence have made her one of the show’s most divisive characters. But the vitriol towards her and certain other characters has been off the charts. olivia cooke deactivated her official instagram account 🙁 pic.twitter.com/IfJHBW48Ld — 💭 (@thinkercooke) May 1, 2026 And one corner of the internet can’t seem to separate fiction from reality, something Cooke spoke about in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year. “Some of the fans have been f**king horrible to our cast,” Cooke said, adding that she’s found support in her House of the Dragon co-stars Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith, who have faced similar criticism. “It makes me really angry that we’re then supposed to just bow down and [pay] obeisance to these people that only want to say the most debased, hate-filled things. But thankfully, we’ve all experienced it in our own way, and we’ve got each other, which doesn’t make it right.” Those comments were made last September, but on Friday 1st May, fans noticed that Cooke’s Instagram account – where she had more than one million followers – had been deactivated just a few days after the season three trailer dropped. Let’s be clear that the actress hasn’t confirmed why she made this decision, but for now, fans are speaking out against the unjustified hate Cooke has received. One Redditor shared a series of hate post examples against Cooke’s Alicent and other cast and characters, writing, “Yall see this? This took me less than three minutes to compile. Olivia Cooke has deleted her account. To the people who think Actors like Olivia, Emma, Ewan and Tom deserve hate just because yall like different "sides". (All of this took me less than 3 minutes to compile btw) bonus Olivia cooke simping. byu/East-Way-6378 inHOTDGreens “People do not understand, these actors do not owe you ANYTHING. They are getting paid because of hardwork not for fools to sit at home, be insecure and hate on them. “Olivia Cooke and Tom Glyn Carney have been so hated, simply because childish people cannot separate fictional characters from the actor. Just straight up horrible. “I’ve seen people say it’s not bad that Ewan was body shamed because he was ‘paid’. Wtf?” Another replied, “Ugh not this again, I feel so bad for the actors. Mini rant but like the fact that people, many grown adults old enough to be watching this show, don’t seem to grasp the basic distinction between a character and the actor playing them is honestly baffling.” Over on X, one wrote, “I saw Fabian was getting death threats. It was a matter of time before she left as well. Absolutely ridiculous!” Another commented, “I’m positive it’s because of toxic HotD fans, timing just after the trailer drops probs isn’t a coincidence. Bless her, I don’t blame her.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: HBO Post navigation Next story
