Outcry as Orange is the New Black kills off main character

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for season 4 of Orange is the New Black.

It looks like Game of Thrones isn't the only TV show to axe beloved characters.

Orange is the New Black has killed off one of its main characters, leaving many fans "upset" and claiming it was unnecessary.

In the last episode of the Netflix show's fourth season, streaming on Netflix, prison inmate Poussey Washington, played by Samira Wiley, is killed after being pinned down by an untrained officer during a riot/protest in the prison's cafeteria. Unable to breathe under the pressure of the officer, Poussey suffocates and dies in front of everyone.

This isn't the first death on the popular show, but it's one that hit home for fans.

OITNB's 77-minute long finale deals with the fallout of her death, but fans still felt their favourite character "deserved better".

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Many slammed her death as an inappropriate ploy to "raise awareness" for the Black Lives Matter movement, or as a "lazy" plot point to add "shock value" to the show.

The hashtag #PousseyDeservedBetter soon appeared on Twitter with viewers posting their thoughts:

The fact that she died for the purpose of getting some whites to understand blm gets me upset #PousseyDeservedBetter

— capricorn cunt. (@celesitial) June 19, 2016

Hey @OITNB writing staff: offing an unapologetic black lesbian character for shock value isn't creative, it's lazy #PousseyDeservedBetter

— communist bog crone (@ladyslothington) June 19, 2016

She deserved better than being killed "to raise awareness". Black lesbians aren't here to be your plot devices #PousseyDeservedBetter

— sibel (@evanrachwoods) June 19, 2016

#PousseyDeservedBetter black lesbians are already underrepresented on tv & instead of a happy ending she received a tropey death. do better.

— &age (@thotveIvet) June 19, 2016

Several fans felt the episode was in bad taste, especially after the tragic mass shooting in Orlando, where a gunman killed 49 people and injured another 53 in a gay nightclub.

#PousseyDeservedBetter her death was damn triggering especially, after this past week with Orlando, where the victims were LGBT+ POC

— dominican Percy or bust (@youngavengersaf) June 19, 2016