Pedro Pascal has been acting for decades but has quickly become one of the most discussed, crushed-on, and hyper-sexualized celebrities of the present time.
In the past several years, Pascal went from playing small and supporting roles to dominating the internet’s attention, quickly labeled “the internet’s daddy.”
Between fans praising his chic red carpet fashion or his characters’ kind and suave nature, Pascal has quickly become the object of thousands of internet crushes.
At first, Pascal’s “internet daddy” title was seemingly well-received. After being asked by Graham Norton on The Graham Norton show, “What’s ‘internet daddy,’” Pascal jokingly replied, “Me.”
In an interview with Vanity Fair in April of 2022, Pascal seemed fascinated and amused by the “internet daddy” trend. He laughed his way through a lie detector test, proudly claiming the ” heartthrob ” title. He even admitted to looking at fan accounts dedicated to himself.
“Daddy is a state of mind, you know what I’m saying?” he quipped to Vanity Fair. “I’m your daddy!”
From there, Pascal’s position as “the internet daddy” only intensified. Almost all interviews somehow queried his “daddy-ness,” asking him to read degrading tweets or greeting him with the nickname “daddy” instead of his name.
In early March, during a tour for The Mandalorian season three UK premiere in London, Pascal was once again asked by Access Hollywood if he would read a few “thirst tweets” for the camera.
In the video posted by Access Hollywood, Pascal can be seen silently reading the tweets to himself, a strained smile across his face. When asked to “pick a favorite,” Pascal gently declined, following up with a simple “Dirty!”
In the aftermath of the video’s circulation, fans and non-fans alike jumped to Pascal’s defense, protesting the inappropriate sexualization and objectification that Pascal has received from fans, journalists, and professionals alike. Fans point out that the constant public fixation on Pascal’s sex appeal, rather than his art or talent, is unfair, degrading, and dehumanizing.
One Twitter user remarked, “I bet he’s [sic] love to be asked about this role preparation and not the oh so original question of ‘how do you feel about being the internet’s daddy?’”
Many fans are also comparing the treatment of Pascal to the historical treatment of women in Hollywood: “I feel like Pedro Pascal is getting the actress treatment where he can’t go to any interview without being sexualized. It’s wild,” one user wrote.
Pedro Pascal is widely beloved for his attractive looks and kind, wholesome energy. He plays likable characters and takes his good-natured charm everywhere he goes, on the screen and off.
For months, Pascal expressed awareness and amusement at his “internet daddy” label in various interviews and shows. Many are urging, though, that his affability should not be taken for consent nor as an encouragement to continue the overt objectification of him.
Since the beginning of celebrity culture, celebrities have been the object of fascination, attraction, and sexual aspiration. Pedro Pascal’s position as the site of intensified attraction is nothing new, but fans and advocates again emphasize the degradation and discomfort this attention causes. They are urging people, but broadly news and publication sites, to prioritize consent again and respect Pascal’s position as a human and an actor before his appeal as a sex object.
Pascal rose to relative fame playing Oberyn Martell on the fourth season of Game of Thrones and Javier Peña on Narcos.
His fame has only skyrocketed from there. In 2019, he appeared for the first time in the titular role of the Mandalorian in the beloved Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian. Season three of The Mandalorian aired on Disney+ on March 1, 2023.
Pascal also plays the leading man, Joel, in HBO’s fungal apocalypse series The Last of Us. Adapted from a video game, The Last of Us has overtaken the TV world.
Interested in reading more about celebrities speaking out against Hollywood’s propensity for over-sexualization? Click here to read about Pamela: A Love Story, the new biopic in which Pamela Anderson details her experience with Playboy, her leaked sex tape, and the recent Hulu series Pam and Tommy.
