Although the Netflix series tells a story of camaraderie and bright youth against adversity, it seems that there are fans who do not fully grasp the values of the program. Happens that Caleb McLaughlininterpreter of Lucas Sinclair in the four seasons of stranger thingsrevealed a few days ago that he has been a victim of racism from some viewers.
McLaughlin’s statements emerged at the recent Heroes Comic Con in Belgium, where the actor met last weekend to star in various event panels and answer questions from the public. It was there that he chose to be honest about the bad experiences that have followed him during his rise to fame; unpleasant situations that he attributes to skin color discrimination.
“It definitely affected me as a child,” he commented on one of the panels (via Variety). “During my first Comic-Con, some people didn’t stand in my line because I was black. Some people said to me, ‘Oh, I didn’t want to be on your line because you were mean to Eleven.’”
In the role of Lucas, the twentysomething actor has been part of the main cast of stranger things from the first episode of the series, with its own personality, arc of transformation and way of relating to the other characters. However, McLaughlin never felt the same popularity or similar affection that her co-stars received, back in 2016, when the hit show debuted. “Why am I the least favorite and with the fewest followers?”, he used to wonder at that time. “I’m on the same show as everyone from season one”.
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Today, Caleb McLaughlin still suffers from the racism of some fans of stranger things, but he admits that it no longer usually shocks him like before. He chooses to be positive, optimistic and distribute messages of affection to all his followers.
“Even now, some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m black,” he said at that convention. “Sometimes abroad you feel racism, you feel intolerance. Sometimes it is difficult to talk about it and for people to understand it. But when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot.”
And I add:
“My parents had to say, ‘It’s a sad truth, but it’s because you’re the black kid on the show.’ It is because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin that I am not loved. But [yo prefiero] spread positivity and love because I don’t return hate to people who hate me.”
We will see McLaughlin again in stranger things, season 5, which will be the last of the emblematic science fiction title. It is currently in the pre-production phase and has no tentative release date.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.