Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo opened up about an uncomfortable and rather disturbing encounter with an adult fan.
The actor was on an episode of the Inside of You podcast when he was asked if he had any "funny stories about meeting fans."
Matarazzo, now 21 years old, responded:
“Funny’s a way to say it, there are some that are a little uncomfortable.”
He recalled a particular incident with a fan and her mother.
“I did one very, very recently… This is not very funny, but the reactions around it were quite funny where this, like, woman in her 40s, she said straight up: ‘I’ve had a crush on you since you were 13.'"
“And I was like: ‘That’s upsetting,’ and I was like, I’m sure she just meant: ‘Aw, this kid’s cute.'"
That was not the case at all.
"... but then she doubled down.'"
“Like: ‘I’m aware of the age difference,’ then I was like: ‘…Alright.’”
He continued:
“Her daughter was with her, and her daughter goes: ‘Mom, what the f**k?!’"
"I swear to god, this girl must have been about 13.”
Host Michael Rosenbaum asked if that part at least made him laugh, but Matarazzo was too appalled in the moment.
“I couldn’t; I was like: ‘Thank you guys for coming!’"
"My mom was right there, my mother was sitting next to me. That was insane.”
He also shared in the podcast that fans grabbing his butt is a regular occurrence.
You can listen below.
WARNING: NSFW language.
GATEN MATARAZZO: Stranger Things Growing Pains, Saying Goodbye to Dustin & His Dream Come True!youtu.be
People on social media expressed their disgust over the way minors in the entertainment industry are blatantly and unapologetically sexualized.
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Others commented on the disgusting online countdowns to child actors' 18th birthdays.
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Matarazzo's Stranger Things costar Millie Bobby Brown was also the subject of one of these abhorrent countdowns.
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When the series premiered in July 2016, Noah Schnapp was just 11 years old, Brown was 12, Finn Wolfhard and Matarazzo were 13 and Caleb McLaughlin was 14.
By the time she turned 18, Brown was well aware of both the countdown and how she was sexualized online.
She said on the Guilty Feminist podcast:
“It’s a very good representation of what’s going on in the world and how young girls are sexualized."
"I have been dealing with that — but I have also been dealing with that forever.”
As for Matarazzo, he said he fully recognizes the impact Stranger Things has had on his career.
“I would like the people in my team, my managers and agents, to understand that I’m very OK with understanding that 'Stranger Things' will beyond very likely be the biggest thing I will ever do, and will most likely be the thing that I’m remembered for, even if I consistently work after this.”
“And I’m so cool with that."
“As long as it facilitates happiness going forward, security, and more work going forward, what the hell else can I ask for?"
"I don’t want to maintain a sense of relevancy at this point when I can focus my time and effort on things I actually like doing, and I can use this to make myself happy. What the hell else would I want to do?"
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