His role on “Game of Thrones” might have put Pedro Pascal on the map, but starring in Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian” and HBO’s “The Last of Us” has transformed him into a household name. When people aren’t applauding his performances, they’re usually gushing about his looks.
So much so that the 47-year-old actor was coined “the internet’s daddy.” For the most part, Pascal has been a good sport, playing along when the nickname got mentioned during television segments, interviews and red carpet appearances.
However, a reporter from Access Hollywood approached him during a premiere for “The Mandalorian” Season 2, giving him a list of thirst tweets to read out loud. For those who are unaware, ”thirst tweets” are when fans express their sexual desire for a celebrity online. Having stars awkwardly read theirs in front of a camera has become a media trend.
Trendy or not, Pascal was not having it.
After being handed the list, Pascal read them silently. Then he politely declined, then (presumably to keep things light-hearted) said, “Dirty, dirty!” before thanking the reporter and walking off.
Pascal might have been unfazed by the situation, but the clip, which has since gone viral, has spurred a bigger conversation about how abusive this kind of behavior can be.
One issue here that people pointed out was the on-the-spotness of it all, which made things feel particularly jarring and exploitative.
As one person mentioned on Reddit, “At least the celebs filming the ones on YouTube have already agreed to the premise because asking someone to read thirst tweets unprompted is so crazy to me? Like imagine rocking up to a work event and someone asks if they can film you reading sexually explicit comments written about you by strangers, I’d be like ??? Have some decorum lol.”
Another pointed out how an event for a show that’s supposed to be kid-friendly made the situation even more inappropriate, even if he had played along in the past.
“He’s on this specific red carpet for a Disney + show which I think is the key difference here. I don’t think Disney would appreciate him reading ‘I want Pedro Pascal to spit in my mouth’ aloud at the Mandalorian premiere. In addition, who cares if he played into it before? If he doesn’t want to anymore that’s a boundary perfectly within his right to set,” they wrote.
On Twitter, someone compared Pascal’s situation to the kind of fetishizing that actresses have historically dealt with. “I feel like Pedro Pascal is getting the actress treatment where he cant go to any interview without being sexualized its wild.”
Some commented that because Pascal is a man, society sees it as okay to give him more conspicuous sexual attention. “Someone please explain to me why it’s okay for people on the internet and in the media to talk about Pedro Pascal in a manner which would be disgusting if he were a woman,” one person wrote.
Mostly folks were just sharing agreement that this joke has run its course, and that it was a good thing Pascal shut it down.
“I’m so happy he’s putting his foot down. The amount of interviews and things I’ve seen where he has had to address the ‘daddy’ thing is so aggravating,” one person wrote.
“People think it’s such a compliment but it’s still sexualizing and dehumanizing,” another added.
“Every Pedro Pascal interview rn is just thinly veiled sexual harassment —whether it’s making him read grossly invasive tweets sexualizing him or incessantly calling him daddy. tired and weird antics!!!!!!” commented one person, implying that Access Hollywood is far from the only media outlet to overstep boundaries.
It’s no secret that many times fans cross the line when it comes to how they treat celebrities. Maybe it’s because, for many of us, they do represent a kind of fantasy—be it our vision of fame, fortune, beauty, talent, you name it. This clearly happens to both male and female celebrities, as Pascal’s story illuminates. But as cliche as it sounds, stars are people too, and they deserve a baseline level of respect.
And speaking more universally, being treated as a sexual object can make anyone feel uncomfortable, especially when being attractive suddenly becomes your sole identity marker. Hopefully, this story shines a light on knowing how far is too far when it comes to “paying a compliment.”
