Bridgerton's Penelope Fandom Hate Explained: is There Really a Reason?
It seems that Penelope is hated for her actions, not her personality.
Of all the characters on Bridgerton, none is as divisive as Penelope Featherington, also known by her pen name Lady Whistledown — a witty gossip writer capable of destroying lives with a single sentence.
With Penelope becoming the main hero of Bridgerton's upcoming third season, the hatred towards her has become even more vocal, and some fans are even calling for a boycott of Netflix for choosing her and Colin as the season's main characters.
But why is she so hated?
While Penelope herself may seem like a sweet and innocent person, caring for her friends and family and trying to cope with being treated as an ugly duckling, her Lady Whistledown persona is quite different, as she often uses her fame as a tool to destroy the lives of people she hates or envies. Obviously, many viewers are not comfortable with this, calling Penelope a selfish and evil person.
In fact, over the course of the first two seasons, Penelope really only did two questionable things as Lady Whistledown — she revealed that Marina had lied to Colin about having his baby and accused Eloise of being involved with the rebels.
Although Penelope could arguably be absolved of those actions because the facts she revealed were objectively true, some people argue that she had her own reasons for essentially destroying her friends' lives.
'Penelope could've simply come clean to the queen but she refused to and sold her best friend to the wolves instead to "help" her, even though the mess was of Penelope's own creation. As for Marina, yeah, it is wrong to trick someone into marriage. But we all know that's not the main reason why Penelope exposed her; she did it because she was jealous and didn't want Colin to marry anyone else,' one fan said.
So while Penelope may seem kind and caring at first glance, she can be quite the villain in some moments, which is why some fans hate her. However, that doesn't make Penelope a bad character, as being a bit controversial only adds depth to her personality, and ultimately, Penelope's storylines are always a blast to follow.
Season 3 of Netflix's Bridgerton is expected to premiere later this year.
Source: Reddit.