The internet phenomena of identifying “celebrity daddies” reached peak virality when Pedro Pascal was labeled “Internet Daddy” on an episode of The Graham Norton Show last Feb. The episode featured the actor and his reactions to thirst tweets from his fans.
Pedro Pascal on the March-April 2023 Issue of Wired Magazine
A red carpet interview of Pedro Pascal with Access Hollywood brought to light the rabid internet behavior of fans when the actor was asked to read the thirst tweets out loud to the camera, displaying visible discomfort through his laughter. After the interviewer asked him if he had “picked his favorite” to say out loud, he quickly shook his head and replied: “No.”
The shared post of the incident reached over 30.3 million views on X and has received an overwhelming amount of criticism, shaming the Hollywood industry for allowing entertainment sources to capitalize off of the sexualization of male celebrities. In the caption of the X-user @djarinluck, who shared the short clip stated: “This is the worst thing I have ever seen.” Further comments from the post include:
“I literally feel so bad all they do is call him daddy and talk about how he’s a heartthrob. Yes, he’s gorgeous but the guy’s in two major series [right now] like? Talk about his work? Like jfc leave him alone.”
– X-User @AlliGraz under @djarinluck ‘s X-post.
“He literally became aware that a weird part of the internet entirely disregards his person and just objectifies him. He doesn’t deserve that and shame on that interviewer for showing him that.”
– X-User @CodyFandom_ under @djarinluck ‘s X-post
Many netizens have come forward to discuss the formation of a severe parasocial relationship between Pedro Pascal and his fans, bringing up the negative impact of this behavior toward his well-being. This leads to the questions like: does this have anything to do with the patriarchal system that also negatively affects men? Do we not view celebrities as humans? Do parasocial relationships have something to do with this trend of oversexualization?
Celebrity “Daddies” has become a common and popular phrase that addresses older male figures. Celebrities that have been referred to by this term include Oscar Isaac, Ryan Gosling, Cillian Murphy, Mads Mikkelsen, and many more. From social media videos to uncomfortable interview questions, there has been an uproar from these celebrities about being sexualized both on and off camera.
Jacob Elordi, a rising star on the big screen, has spoken up about his lead role in The Kissing Booth (2018): “At the time I was super young and got thrown into a world where everyone wanted to talk about my body. It really f*cking bothered me.” Referring to his shirtless scene in the film, detailing how he wanted to detach from the shirtless scene of the movie.
Henry Cavill, the current face of the Superman saga through his Man of Steel (2013) movie, has also expressed his disinterest in being labeled as a modern sex symbol. “People who don’t respect other people’s feelings really get my goat.” As saddening as it is, he said that the stigma became a motivator to further work on his physical appearance. “It does help certainly to have that little bit of stigma in the back of your head that you’re never quite good enough, so you keep on working harder.”
Throughout time, the sexualization of the male figure has been buried by the standards of the patriarchy where the harassment of men is disregarded as “nothing big”. It is not to say that it is comparable to the hypersexualization of women on a daily basis, but male harassment should not be ignored. With many male celebrities speaking up nowadays about their negative experience both on and off set, it is quite disappointing that advocacy for their autonomy is not louder.
There is nothing inherently wrong with finding an older male celebrity attractive, but the oversexualization of male celebrities has been an overlooked issue due to the lack of empathy towards these male figures.
Pedro Pascal is only one of the dozens of male celebrities who have had enough with the oversexualization. Thus, the boundaries should be more than clear when celebrities are cultivated figures for the big screens regardless of sex and gender. There is a fine line between appreciating the artist and completely overstepping by harassing them in person or online with sexual comments.
