Melanie Lynskey Shuts Down Criticism Over Her ‘Post-Apocalyptic’ Body

The 'Last of Us' star had some thoughtful words following criticism from the first winner of 'America's Next Top Model.'

We can't believe Melanie Lynskey has to say this again.

The Yellowjackets star, 45, has quite an impressive filmography, but critics can't stop attacking the way she looks. Most recently, the first winner of America's Next Top Model, Adrianne Curry, had some thoughts about Lynskey's portrayal of the leader of a post-apocalyptic rebellion in HBO's The Last of Us.

In a now-deleted tweet, Curry replied to a post featuring a photo of Lynskey dressed in a gorgeous, glittering Christian Siriano gown for a photo shoot with InStyle. The former reality star wrote, "her body says life of luxury...not post apocolyptic [sic] warlord. where is linda hamilton when you need her?"

Lynskey quickly clapped back, sharing a screenshot of the tweet and first pointing out that the photo isn't even a still from the series. "I’m playing a person who meticulously planned & executed an overthrow of FEDRA. I am supposed to be SMART, ma’am," she continued. "I don’t need to be muscly. That’s what henchmen are for."

The actress went on to commend the show's creators for writing her character, who didn't exist in the video game and which she calls "a truly new character" that she has "never seen before," into the series.

In a series of follow-up tweets, Lynskey wrote, in part, "...my casting suggested the possibility of a future in which people start listening to the person with the best ideas, not the coolest or the toughest person."

She pointed out how women, especially those "in leadership positions, are scrutinized incessantly," be it for the sound of her voice, the way she looks, or the way she responds to high-stress situations. "I was excited at the idea of playing a woman who had, in a desperate and tragic time, jumped into a role she had never planned on having and nobody else had planned on her having, and then she actually got shit done...I wanted her to be...all the things that we’ve been told are 'weak.'"

Fans and friends, including Merle Dandridge, who plays Marlene in the series, jumped to her defense. Dandridge wrote, "Your performance chilled me and had me on the edge of my seat. Cannot wait for more from you and @pierce_jeffrey this Fri on @TheLastofUsHBO #TheLastOfUs."

But Curry, who deleted the original tweet amid the backlash, stuck to her guns, emphasizing a criticism of the character's, rather than Lynskey's, body.

"Next up, Jason Mamoa will find my criticism of his portrayal of AQUAMAN and will put me in my place with a strongly worded tweet on why he IS the perfect Arthur Curry," she wrote.

"That was not a character you were commenting about. It was a real person. How come we still have to tell people its not ok to share opinions on other people’s bodies or looks if they aren’t asked for?" another Twitter user wondered.

"someone posted that image to excuse the poor casting because the actress is HOT and curvy I simply said it made the character more unbelievable," Curry defended. "someone sent me a photo of her bodacious curves to excuse my criticism of not her acting...but her being miscast Saying a person is miscast and stating that their voice, height and body add to it shouldn't be an insult," she defended in another, adding, "i don't generally buy woman warlords in post societal collapse scenarios. I am too much of a realist. actors are not the characters they play."

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as separating the character from "the people pretending to be them" when the actor and the character are identical in appearance and you're degrading their shared body type.

"You critiqued her BODY, not her acting, out of absolutely nowhere when it had nothing to do with the role," one response emphasized.

"Actors are not models. I'm sorry you worked in an industry that so heavily (and wrongly) entwined success with body type. But that doesn't mean you get to project your resentment about that onto others," another user came to Lynskey's defense.

Lynskey's husband, Jason Ritter, also jumped in following the double down and apparent confusion, writing, "You… you could have just… not tweeted it. But you did, and people are upset with what you said..."

Later down the line, Curry even took a bizarrely misogynistic stance when she suggested that no woman would be able to hold their own in an apocalyptic setting, writing, "Women would be pillaged and traded. The truth is terrifying..."

...Not as terrifying as a woman who doesn't support other women, though.