Explaining the Pedro Pascal backlash and why it matters

Cosmopolitan

30-07-2025

When I first heard there was backlash against Pedro Pascal, I was terrified. Surely, only some disastrous scandal could have prompted any outrage against everyone's current Hollywood crush. Oh, how wrong I was. It turns out the Pedro Pascal backlash isn't due to any offensive joke or impropriety, it's because...he has anxiety and supports LGBTQ rights. Confused? Allow me to explain.
The Pedro hate began last week, leading up to the premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, when the actor gave an interview with Men's Health on managing anxiety. In the interview, he said that he tends to rely on others — friends, family — and is 'always one to reach out when I'm facing something that is challenging or making me anxious.'
He continued, saying that when he found himself falling into patterns of doom scrolling and anxiety in 2020, 'I had to go back to what was always the comfort for me in my life, which was engagement in my relationships, my friendships, and conversation and shared experience.'
Anyone who has ever had any kind of acute mental health issue will tell you that one of the first things a therapist or counsellor will instruct you to do is to create an action plan, which usually involves listing at least two people you can call in a crisis. Calling friends or family in times of trouble is not unusual, nor is it inappropriate.
Unless you ask anti-trans activist Posie Parker (not to be confused with our White Lotus queen, Parker Posey).
'He never gets the anxiety gropes around men, does he?!' Posie (real name Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull) tweeted last week. She also shared a video of Pedro posing with his Fantastic Four co-star Vanessa Kirby, his hand moving up and down her arm as he looked for the best placement for the photos.
While you and I might look at this video clip and think, 'Pedro Pascal is just like me, he also doesn't know what to do with his hands in photographs!' Posie apparently looked at it and related it back to the actor's quote saying he likes to 'reach out' to those close to him when he's anxious.
Is it worth pointing out that when Pedro was talking to Men's Health, he was clearly using the phrase 'reach out' to mean that he contacts his loved ones? Or that there is nothing inherently wrong with seeking physical comfort from consenting adults? Yes, but logic is clearly not at the forefront here.
A wave of trolls soon followed, hopping on the bandwagon to accuse Pedro of being inappropriately touchy with certain female co-stars. (I have included tweets for proof, not endorsements.)
It's worth noting that there have been no public allegations or proof of any unwanted physical affection at all. To my knowledge, Pedro has never been accused of being inappropriate (physically or otherwise) with anyone, on set or off.
What Pedro is guilty of, however, is being a vocal advocate for trans rights, which many suspect is why Posie chose to target him in the first place. In fact, TERFs and other anti-trans activists have been trying to get this fake scandal going for months, ever since Pedro called out J.K. Rowling's 'heinous loser' behaviour in April after she celebrated an anti-trans ruling UK Supreme Court ruling.
As noted by Vanity Fair, following Pedro's comments, fans of the Harry Potter author attempted to smear Pedro using a clip of him reaching for Vanessa Kirby's hand at last year's Comic-Con, accusing him of being inappropriate.
'What happened is we were both incredibly nervous going out in front of thousands of people who love this comic,' Vanessa later 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.'
Which brings me to my final point, and the point many Pedro defenders are making online: There is a difference between being openly physically affectionate and groping someone without their consent. By pretending we don't know the difference, you are making it easier for actual harassers to get away with inappropriate, nonconsensual behaviour.
Now, unless you have any substantial allegations, would you please leave our fave internet daddy alone?