"Stranger Things" Gaten Matarazzo Said A 40-Year-Old Mom Hit On Him
"I’ve had a crush on you since you were 13," a 40-year-old fan told Gaten Matarazzo.
Gaten Matarazzo, 21, opens up about his strange encounters with fans.
Matarazzo, known for his character Dustin Henderson in the Netflix hit Stranger Things, recently appeared on the Inside of You podcast to dish it all. The actor recalled the time when a much older woman approached him. “I did one very recently – and this is not very funny, but the reactions around it were quite funny – where this woman in her 40s said straight up, ‘I’ve had a crush on you since you were 13,’” he said. “And I was like, ‘That’s upsetting.’ I’m sure she just meant, ‘Aw, this kid’s cute.’”
Unfortunately, Matarazzo was wrong, and someone should have called Chris Hansen. “She was like, ‘I’m aware of the age difference.’ And then I was like, ‘Alright.’ And her daughter was with her, and her daughter goes, ‘Mom, what the f*ck?’ I swear to God,” he added. Her daughter was around 13. I wonder how she would feel if a grown man repeated that heinous confession to her daughter.
While uncomfortable situations do occasionally arise for Matarazzo, he's still grateful for Stranger Things. “Those careers are always about peaks and valleys. With this show, it is quite clear, and I am very well aware – and would like my professional team – to understand that I am very okay with Stranger Things being very likely the biggest thing I will ever do,” he said. “And it will most likely be the thing I am remembered for even if I consistently work after this.”
He continued, “And I am so cool with that as long as it facilitates happiness going forward, security, and more work going forward. What more could I ask for? I don’t want to maintain a sense of relevance at this point when it isn’t even something I particularly enjoy that much.”
This is not the first time the cast members have been sexualized as minors. Even Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, has dealt with gross comments as a teen. “Any 18-year-old is dealing with navigating being an adult and having relationships and friendships and ... being liked and trying to fit in,” Brown said on the Guilty Feminist podcast after turning 18. “It’s all a lot, and you’re trying to find yourself while doing that. The only difference is that, obviously, I’m doing that in the public eye, so it can be really overwhelming.” What's even more concerning is the adults who were "buddies" with Brown when she was still a kid (I'm looking at you, Drake).
“I have definitely been dealing with that more within the last two weeks of turning 18 – definitely seeing a difference between the way people act and the way that the press and social media have reacted to me coming of age,” she added.
“I believe that that shouldn’t change anything, but it’s gross and it’s true, and ... it’s a very good representation of what’s going on in the world and how young girls are sexualized.”
While more awareness is being brought to the sexualization of minors in Hollywood, the unfortunate reality is that such behavior may persist due to the difficulty many victims face in coming forward.
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