Stephanie Tyler Jones, the face of Mary Jane Watson in Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man, called out harassing behavior in a letter addressed to the superhero game's community.
In a January 8 Instagram post later shared to Reddit, Jones writes: "Over the weekend, some followers crossed boundaries. One even went to the extent of calling my workplace and leaving multiple voicemails wanting to speak with me and requesting I call back, which is unacceptable and considered stalking."
With regards to her online presence, Jones says "my skincare page is not for Spider-Man or MJ fans." She concludes: "Bottom line is that I came into work this morning and immediately felt unsafe and uncomfortable hearing those voicemails. Please respect that I am a human being trying to make a living just like you, and I kindly ask for boundaries to not be crossed."
MJ's model speaks out. To whoever has done this, you should feel ashamed. from r/SpidermanPS4
The MJ based on Jones (and voiced by Laura Bailey) was well-received, but stirred some discussion following the reveal of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, with some fans wondering if the sequel used a new model for the character. However, last year Insomniac community director James Stevenson confirmed that the sequel's MJ features the same model and actress.
In her letter, Jones says she is "no longer an actively auditioning actor or model." How this may affect MJ in future Marvel's Spider-Man games or DLCs remains to be seen. Splitting hairs a bit, she could theoretically reprise an existing role and return as MJ. Insomniac may also be able to reference the same model or scan that it already has, but I don't know enough about the production and capture process there to speculate confidently.
Marvel's Spider-Man came up in December's massive Insomniac leak, which developers condemned as "truly disgraceful and shameful."
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