It’s easy to see why Pedro Pascal was crowned as the internet’s new “unproblematic fave.” He is, as you would expect for a Hollywood actor, decently good-looking. He’s been in Game of Thrones, took the lead in Star Wars spin-off Mandalorian, featured in the TV adaptation of The Last of Us, and more recently had a starring role in the latest installment of Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Equally as important for a celebrity nowadays, Pascal has some impeccably woke credentials. He is an advocate of ‘trans rights.’ He’s vocally anti-Trump. He makes all the right noises about Palestine. He embraces a nauseating brand of “non-toxic masculinity,” whereby he talks at length about his men’s mental health—specifically, his anxiety, which he copes with by… getting uncomfortably cosy with his pregnant, taken co-star?
Social media has been flooded lately with pictures and videos of Pascal getting handsy with Vanessa Kirby, who plays his love interest in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. At red carpet events, he can be seen holding hands with and putting his arm around Kirby, who is pregnant and in a relationship with Paul Rabil, an American ex-lacrosse player. At one point, he even appears to caress her baby bump. I’m well aware that the rules and dynamics of Hollywood differ from those for us mere mortals, but this is a bit strange, no?
This isn’t a recent development for Pascal, either. One video from San Diego Comic Con last year shows him pawing after Kirby’s hand while they present a panel, like he’s a lost child in a supermarket. In another video from 2024, Pascal grabs the face of Giada Colagrande, wife of actor Willem Dafoe, and strokes her chin.
The reason for this behaviour is equally baffling. Apparently, it’s because of his anxiety. In a 2023 interview, Pascal told The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey that he places a hand on his chest or “reaches out” to someone close to him to cope with high-stress situations. Many fans interpreted this to include a physical connection, as well as an emotional one. Kirby herself has also explained that Pascal will grab her hand for comfort when he’s feeling nervous.
This might come across as harsh, but I can’t help but wonder: why on Earth would you choose to become an actor if giving interviews or having a picture taken is your idea of a high-stress situation? Besides, Pascal is hardly some blushing ingénue. He’s a 50-year-old man, who seemingly can’t make it down a red carpet without gripping onto his female co-stars for dear life.
To be clear, as far as we know right now, no one has made any allegations against Pascal or complained publicly about his behaviour. We can only assume that Kirby—and her partner—are okay with this. Outlets like Cosmopolitan were quick to dismiss the online backlash against Pascal as being driven by right-wing trolls, but we should be concerned about the wider trend that Pascal is feeding into. Namely, that it’s fine to use your mental illness as a get-out clause for virtually anything.
As diagnoses for conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and autism have soared, it’s become commonplace for people to deploy these as excuses for inappropriate behaviour or just plain rudeness. For example, nowadays if you are routinely late to work without good reason, it’s not because you have terrible time management. Rather, it’s because you suffer from ‘time blindness.’ Similarly, if you keep interrupting people and don’t take an interest in what your conversation partners have to say, it’s not just that you’re rude and impatient. No, you may well need to seek an autism diagnosis. If you procrastinate, are lazy, or don’t feel like cleaning up after yourself, you probably have anxiety or depression or both.
This is all nonsense. Except in extreme cases, having a mental condition does not completely abdicate you from personal responsibility, or excuse you from conforming to all social norms. Anxiety or not, Pascal is not some helpless child who doesn’t know any better. He is a grown man who should know by now that it’s not appropriate to caress another man’s pregnant girlfriend.
The ‘blame it on mental health’ strategy doesn’t work for everyone, of course. UK celebrity chef Gregg Wallace was certainly not allowed to claim that his alleged inappropriate behaviour towards his female coworkers (including unwanted touching, groping, lewd comments, and, for some reason, not wearing underwear) was due to his autism. Disgraced rapper Kanye West didn’t have much luck either, when he tried to blame his antisemitic outbursts and Hitler-praise on being autistic.
One glaring reason why Pascal has managed to stave off cancellation so far is his politics. In particular, Pascal has thrown himself head-first into the trans debate. Earlier this year at the London premiere for Thunderbolts, he appeared sporting a t-shirt with the phrase “Protect the Dolls” on it—a reference to a pro-trans movement that attempts to paint trans people, specifically male-bodied transwomen, as perfect, harmless “dolls” who are being unfairly demonised by gender-critical feminists and the Right. The premiere took place shortly after the UK Supreme Court had ruled in favour of women’s sex-based rights, declaring that the definition of a woman for the purpose of the Equality Act (2010) should be based on biological sex. Pascal also criticised the role Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling played in the legal battle, describing her campaigning as “disgusting” and “heinous loser behaviour.” In a separate post, referring to those of us who believe men cannot become women simply because they say so, Pascal wrote: “I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorising the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.”
Pascal has no qualms about insulting those with differing politics to him. In 2018, he compared a (fake) image of immigrant children being detained in the U.S. to Nazi concentration camps. After the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, he went even further by comparing supporters of Donald Trump to Nazis in a now-deleted X post. Let’s not forget that when his Mandalorian co-star, Gina Carano made the opposite comparison, likening the modern-day Left to Nazis, Disney’s Lucasfilms called her comments “abhorrent and unacceptable,” booted her from the show and effectively blacklisted her from Hollywood.
The trouble with Pascal is that fandom based on a flawlessly progressive, unproblematic image can never last. It’s never a pretty sight when woke celebs fall from grace. And they do inevitably fall from grace. I am reminded of singer Lizzo, who set herself up as a body-positive icon, and who was later cancelled for allegedly fat-shaming her backup dancers, among other things. Or James Franco, the self-styled male feminist who settled a lawsuit for $2.2 million in 2021 after ex-students at his film school accused him of sexually exploiting them. Then there was Ezra Miller, the nonbinary Fantastic Beasts star who, in escapades worthy of their own write-up, was accused of burglary, assault, harassment, and grooming a minor. Hell, even Elon Musk was the internet’s progressive darling at one point, until he wasn’t.
None of this is to say that I believe Pascal to be a sex pest, or that I’m praying for his downfall at all. But elevating an actor to near-sainthood because he champions your chosen causes will never end well. Audiences have become far too touchy (no pun intended) when it comes to celebrities’ political beliefs and personal lives, and one slip-up can put them on a road to permanent cancellation.
If I had one piece of advice for Pascal (who is no doubt reading), it would be this: the higher the pedestal, the further the fall. Also, maybe keep your hands to yourself.
Pedro Pascal and The Precariousness of Woke Celebs
Actor Pedro Pascal
Noam Galai / Getty Images via AFP
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It’s easy to see why Pedro Pascal was crowned as the internet’s new “unproblematic fave.” He is, as you would expect for a Hollywood actor, decently good-looking. He’s been in Game of Thrones, took the lead in Star Wars spin-off Mandalorian, featured in the TV adaptation of The Last of Us, and more recently had a starring role in the latest installment of Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Equally as important for a celebrity nowadays, Pascal has some impeccably woke credentials. He is an advocate of ‘trans rights.’ He’s vocally anti-Trump. He makes all the right noises about Palestine. He embraces a nauseating brand of “non-toxic masculinity,” whereby he talks at length about his men’s mental health—specifically, his anxiety, which he copes with by… getting uncomfortably cosy with his pregnant, taken co-star?
Social media has been flooded lately with pictures and videos of Pascal getting handsy with Vanessa Kirby, who plays his love interest in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. At red carpet events, he can be seen holding hands with and putting his arm around Kirby, who is pregnant and in a relationship with Paul Rabil, an American ex-lacrosse player. At one point, he even appears to caress her baby bump. I’m well aware that the rules and dynamics of Hollywood differ from those for us mere mortals, but this is a bit strange, no?
This isn’t a recent development for Pascal, either. One video from San Diego Comic Con last year shows him pawing after Kirby’s hand while they present a panel, like he’s a lost child in a supermarket. In another video from 2024, Pascal grabs the face of Giada Colagrande, wife of actor Willem Dafoe, and strokes her chin.
The reason for this behaviour is equally baffling. Apparently, it’s because of his anxiety. In a 2023 interview, Pascal told The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey that he places a hand on his chest or “reaches out” to someone close to him to cope with high-stress situations. Many fans interpreted this to include a physical connection, as well as an emotional one. Kirby herself has also explained that Pascal will grab her hand for comfort when he’s feeling nervous.
This might come across as harsh, but I can’t help but wonder: why on Earth would you choose to become an actor if giving interviews or having a picture taken is your idea of a high-stress situation? Besides, Pascal is hardly some blushing ingénue. He’s a 50-year-old man, who seemingly can’t make it down a red carpet without gripping onto his female co-stars for dear life.
To be clear, as far as we know right now, no one has made any allegations against Pascal or complained publicly about his behaviour. We can only assume that Kirby—and her partner—are okay with this. Outlets like Cosmopolitan were quick to dismiss the online backlash against Pascal as being driven by right-wing trolls, but we should be concerned about the wider trend that Pascal is feeding into. Namely, that it’s fine to use your mental illness as a get-out clause for virtually anything.
As diagnoses for conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and autism have soared, it’s become commonplace for people to deploy these as excuses for inappropriate behaviour or just plain rudeness. For example, nowadays if you are routinely late to work without good reason, it’s not because you have terrible time management. Rather, it’s because you suffer from ‘time blindness.’ Similarly, if you keep interrupting people and don’t take an interest in what your conversation partners have to say, it’s not just that you’re rude and impatient. No, you may well need to seek an autism diagnosis. If you procrastinate, are lazy, or don’t feel like cleaning up after yourself, you probably have anxiety or depression or both.
This is all nonsense. Except in extreme cases, having a mental condition does not completely abdicate you from personal responsibility, or excuse you from conforming to all social norms. Anxiety or not, Pascal is not some helpless child who doesn’t know any better. He is a grown man who should know by now that it’s not appropriate to caress another man’s pregnant girlfriend.
The ‘blame it on mental health’ strategy doesn’t work for everyone, of course. UK celebrity chef Gregg Wallace was certainly not allowed to claim that his alleged inappropriate behaviour towards his female coworkers (including unwanted touching, groping, lewd comments, and, for some reason, not wearing underwear) was due to his autism. Disgraced rapper Kanye West didn’t have much luck either, when he tried to blame his antisemitic outbursts and Hitler-praise on being autistic.
One glaring reason why Pascal has managed to stave off cancellation so far is his politics. In particular, Pascal has thrown himself head-first into the trans debate. Earlier this year at the London premiere for Thunderbolts, he appeared sporting a t-shirt with the phrase “Protect the Dolls” on it—a reference to a pro-trans movement that attempts to paint trans people, specifically male-bodied transwomen, as perfect, harmless “dolls” who are being unfairly demonised by gender-critical feminists and the Right. The premiere took place shortly after the UK Supreme Court had ruled in favour of women’s sex-based rights, declaring that the definition of a woman for the purpose of the Equality Act (2010) should be based on biological sex. Pascal also criticised the role Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling played in the legal battle, describing her campaigning as “disgusting” and “heinous loser behaviour.” In a separate post, referring to those of us who believe men cannot become women simply because they say so, Pascal wrote: “I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorising the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.”
Pascal has no qualms about insulting those with differing politics to him. In 2018, he compared a (fake) image of immigrant children being detained in the U.S. to Nazi concentration camps. After the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, he went even further by comparing supporters of Donald Trump to Nazis in a now-deleted X post. Let’s not forget that when his Mandalorian co-star, Gina Carano made the opposite comparison, likening the modern-day Left to Nazis, Disney’s Lucasfilms called her comments “abhorrent and unacceptable,” booted her from the show and effectively blacklisted her from Hollywood.
The trouble with Pascal is that fandom based on a flawlessly progressive, unproblematic image can never last. It’s never a pretty sight when woke celebs fall from grace. And they do inevitably fall from grace. I am reminded of singer Lizzo, who set herself up as a body-positive icon, and who was later cancelled for allegedly fat-shaming her backup dancers, among other things. Or James Franco, the self-styled male feminist who settled a lawsuit for $2.2 million in 2021 after ex-students at his film school accused him of sexually exploiting them. Then there was Ezra Miller, the nonbinary Fantastic Beasts star who, in escapades worthy of their own write-up, was accused of burglary, assault, harassment, and grooming a minor. Hell, even Elon Musk was the internet’s progressive darling at one point, until he wasn’t.
None of this is to say that I believe Pascal to be a sex pest, or that I’m praying for his downfall at all. But elevating an actor to near-sainthood because he champions your chosen causes will never end well. Audiences have become far too touchy (no pun intended) when it comes to celebrities’ political beliefs and personal lives, and one slip-up can put them on a road to permanent cancellation.
If I had one piece of advice for Pascal (who is no doubt reading), it would be this: the higher the pedestal, the further the fall. Also, maybe keep your hands to yourself.
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