Shirley Curry, the Skyrim Grandma, is Taking A Break
Editor’s note: Shirley herself has replied to another article regarding this situation, and this blog has been updated to reflect her position.
Shirley Curry AKA the ‘Skyrim Grandma’, is a beloved internet figure who’s known for posting regular “Let’s Play” videos in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the last five years. Bethesda, no doubt blown away by the amount of fame and adoration Shirley has amassed with her videos, has gone as far as to scan Shirley’s likeness and promise to implement her as an NPC in The Elder Scrolls VI.
According to Shirley’s YouTube bio, she’s an 84 year old grandmother (and widow) who has 4 sons, 9 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. You could imagine that maybe, just maybe, insufferable internet commenters would give this lady a break, right? Wrong. Now, Shirley, this wholesome incredible individual, has announced that she’s taking a break for the sake of her health.
In the above vlog, Shirley takes a somber tone and says that her blood pressure and her stress are both insanely high, and that she’s taking a break to get things back under control. She says some of the comments in particular that she receives stress her out too much, especially ones from “Backseat Gamers”. Shirley states in the vlog that “If you want to do those things, go play your game, and let me play my game. If you don’t like that, go watch somebody else play their game.” (YOU TELL ‘EM QUEEN)
I feel like stories like this come around all the time. A YouTuber or streamer gets big, takes a break for their mental health and personal lives’ sake, and comes back. With Shirley though, this is clearly quite different. This isn’t some 20-something content creator who just wants more time to spend with their friends, this is an 84-year old widow who’s taking a hiatus to give herself a break from the YouTube comments section, which can either play home to kind words of praise and encouragement, or devolve into one of the biggest cesspools on the internet. Shirley has clarified* that her channel is mostly “very nice” people, but she does need to scale things back for her health.
I don’t even know what else to say about this, because I’m so angry that this is even something I need to write about – but I’m not the least bit surprised. Shirley, if you’re reading this – we here at WGG love you and wish you the speediest recovery possible so that you can get back to doing what you love. And don’t sweat the idiots in your comments, hell – turn the comments off altogether! This is your internet, and we’re just living in it.
Keep your head up Shirley, and thanks for all the smiles you’ve given us strangers on the internet over the years. We can’t wait to welcome you back whenever you’re ready.
*EDIT 5/26/20, 1:50 PM: Shirley Speaks!
In a response to a VG247 writer who amped up the severity of Shirley’s commenter problems, Shirley has fired back to clarify that she is scaling back videos primarily due to her health, and that most people on her channel are very nice. You go, Shirley.
