Pedro Pascal is having a big year. He’s starring in his first Marvel movie as Mister Fantastic in Fantastic Four: First Steps, he died a gruesome death in The Last of Us’ second season, and right now, it’s entirely possible you can go to a movie theater and see him in three different films in one day. Public visibility brings more scrutiny, and you can’t find an actor in Hollywood more visible than Pascal these days. That means not only is the actor getting a lot of work and exposure, but also that the internet has gotten really weird about him in a very short amount of time.
Overexposure is usually enough to make the general public turn against anyone. It’s happened at one time or another to Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, Chris Pratt, and Jack Black, just to name a few. Pascal has been a successful actor for a while, but he’s definitely become a staple of franchise entertainment in recent years. He was in Game of Thrones, is in a Star Wars show, and is getting his own movie next year. Add on his role in The Last of Us and now the MCU, and Pascal is everywhere toxic fandoms exist. But also, right now you can go to a movie theater and see him in three different films: Fantastic Four: First Steps, Eddington, and Materialists. Oh, right, he was just in Gladiator II and The Wild Robot, too. The man’s getting his bag, but you can be a good actor starring in quality stuff and still get backlash for people never hearing the end of you. It’s an “I can’t miss you if you won’t leave” sort of deal.
Unlike some celebrities who get this brand of weird fatigue-based backlash, Pascal has the distinction of being pretty likable, and has gone viral plenty of times for being personable and funny in interviews. So if he’s not on your TV screen, he’s probably on your glowing slab giving a sound bite. But those interviews and public appearances are now precisely the place where the actor is getting the most backlash. Pascal is currently promoting Fantastic Four alongside his co-star Vanessa Kirby, who plays his character’s wife. The two have been notably touchy-feely on the road, and this has led to many presumptuous accusations about the two’s relationship and Pascal’s treatment of his female co-stars. This all goes back to a viral clip from San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, in which the two held hands on stage while promoting the film. Kirby herself has gone on the record in an interview with Vanity Fair saying that both the actors were nervous to be on stage talking about the film, and that it was a grounding moment for both of them.
“What happened is we were both incredibly nervous going out in front of thousands of people who love this comic,” Kirby told Vanity Fair. “He wanted me to know that we were in this together, and I found it a lovely gesture and was very glad to squeeze his hand back.”
But that’s not the only footage of Pascal and Kirby getting close, and now a subset of the internet is turning on him, accusing him of inappropriate behavior in these interactions despite it being very obvious that Kirby is initiating plenty of the contact, the existence of footage of him also being touchy with male co-stars, and explanations about the actor’s struggles with anxiety as a contributing factor for his asking for person-to-person contact.
One important piece of context is that Pascal has become especially vocal in his support for trans people in a time when the grifters of the culture war will wield anything they can to try and take down people they perceive as enemies. The actor attended the Thunderbolts* premiere wearing a shirt in support of the transgender community, has called out Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling for her anti-trans efforts, and been a vocal supporter of his trans sister, actor and activist Lux Pascal. Yes, Pascal is having a moment, and some people online are probably tired of seeing him in big movies, but there’s an unmistakable bigoted corner of the internet that is looking to tear down someone they see as a powerful, influential enemy in a smear campaign.
Ultimately, whatever genuine concerns people may have about Pascal’s behavior are rooted in a parasocial assumption that we’re all experts in reading people we’ve never met. The internet treats real celebrities like they’re characters whose goals and motivations are all up for interpretation. Every viral video or tweet is treated like a lore drop to be dissected for your favorite or most-hated character in the multimedia franchise of life. Innocent until proven guilty only applies to the public figures you like, I suppose? Unless someone actually comes forward, this entire controversy feels manufactured, but reality has never stopped nonsense from persisting.