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TL;DR:

  • Beth actor Kelly Reilly is very different than her aggressive, foul-mouthed character
  • Yellowstone fans vary in their opinions on Beth
  • Kelly Reilly explains why Beth resonates with many fans
Yellowstone stars Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly embrace as Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton
Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly | Paramount

Yellowstone aired its season 4 finale back in January, and now fans are anxiously awaiting season 5. John Dutton‘s only daughter Beth has been an important member of the show since day one. However, to this day fans have mixed feelings about her. Some viewers love Beth while others can’t stand her. Some don’t even know how to feel about her after all this time.

Kelly Reilly is pretty different than her ‘Yellowstone’ character

In Yellowstone, Beth Dutton is the only daughter of John and Evelyn Dutton. Beth is fiercely loyal to her father, but she has some pretty serious issues of her own. She drinks excessively and is emotionally unstable. This is likely due to the fact that she witnessed her own mother’s death and shoulders the blame for it. Beth also had an abortion and was sterilized without her knowledge during the procedure.

Beth actor Kelly Reilly is quite a bit different than her Yellowstone character. “I remember sitting down and doing rehearsals and I’m certainly shyer than Beth and it certainly took me a while to find my own way into owning that confidence,” Reilly Entertainment Tonight. “I just remember thinking, ‘Alright, I’m in for a ride here.’ And it’s been so much fun.”

How do ‘Yellowstone’ fans feel about Beth Dutton?

It certainly seems like Beth is one of the most polarizing characters in the Yellowstone universe. Some fans love her, others hate her, and some still don’t know what to make of her after four long seasons. “I will never know how I feel about Beth until the day I die,” one Reddit user wrote.

Beth’s attitude earns her the disdain of some fans. “I have no nice things to say when it comes to Beth. I honestly believe that her ‘flaws’ stem from a male writer imposing his own ideas on what a badass woman looks like. It’s not a real portrayal. It’s trashy, nasty, and hateful 90% of the time,” one fan wrote on Reddit. Others echoed the sentiment.

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Still, there is a host of die-hard Beth fans. “She’s the best character on the show. I don’t know if it’s the writing or Kelly Reilly’s acting, but I just can’t get enough of Beth,” one Reddit user said. “If there was no Beth (or just a mild-mannered Beth), the show wouldn’t be the same period,” another wrote.

Kelly Reilly explains why Beth resonates with some fans

There are Yellowstone viewers who are die-hard Beth fans, despite her over-the-top personality. Reilly explained in an interview with Esquire why she thinks her character resonates strongly with some fans. “There’s something that I think people are responding to, where we’re supposed to be nice all the time, especially women. Right?”

“I’m not talking about female empowerment, but there is that to it, where women are empowered by her. With women, you’re supposed to be the Virgin Mary, or you’re the w****. It’s like this gray area of in-between, which is where all women live—or human beings live—which is the truth. Somewhere in that, there is a primal thing that Beth kind of touches on, which I think is what makes her such a unique character. I love that stuff.”

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