The Witcher's Yennefer Actress Anya Chalotra Opens Up About Online Abuse
19.1k
Levi Winslow
2025-11-03
Netflix's Yennefer of Vengerberg described the harassment she faced as "quite intense."
Season 4 of The Witcher is finally on Netflix, and with the final fifth season looming, the cast are opening up and reflecting on their time in Andrzej Sapkowski's fantastical world of monsters and magic. Anya Chalotra, who plays Yennefer of Vengerberg, did just that, revealing in a new interview that she'll miss her fierce sorceress but won't miss the online harassment.
Speaking to The Guardian, Chalotra got candid about her experiences with the internet's oftentimes toxic fandom. Despite reading the books and playing the games to bring Yennefer to life for Netflix, she explained that she faced intense criticism from fans of Sapkowski's world. So much so, it seems to have driven her offline.
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Now Playing: 8 Witcher "Netflix" Mods To Make Your Game More Like The Show
"I'm not on social media. I stopped," Chalotra told The Guardian. "I haven't been on it for a long time. The first season, for me … there was a lot of negativity. A lot of positive as well, but obviously the negative … This was one of my first jobs. It hit me hard. I learned very quickly that it can all be quite intense."
The Witcher was the most-watched TV show of all time--not just on Netflix--in 2022, pulling in hundreds of millions of views across all four seasons. When you've got that many eyes on you, it can feel something like a trial by fire.
"I was chucked into it," Chalotra said. "A baptism of fire. Daunting, but so thrilling."
Chalotra's experience isn't necessarily unique to her. New Geralt of Rivia, Liam Hemsworth, faced intense harassment as well for taking over as the White Wolf following Henry Cavill's exit. However, what Chalotra faced is indicative of the hate campaign's popular figures--and women more broadly--experience at the hands of dissenters disguised as passionate fans. As showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich recently said, if people don't like The Witcher Season 4 or otherwise for whatever reason, there are other ways to enjoy Sapkowski's world: the books and the games.
All eight episodes of The Witcher Season 4 are available right now on Netflix. Filming for season 5 of the show has finished as well, but there's no firm release date for it yet.
Recent Articles