“Stranger Things” star Caleb McLaughlin said while on a panel at Heroes Comic Con in Belgium this weekend that he’s endured racist encounters with fans since the series premiered in 2016.
A video circulating around Twitter shows the 20-year-old actor, who portrays Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix tentpole series, describing how being Black influenced the way fans treated him amidst the show’s popularity and major success.
“When the show first came out, it definitely took a toll on me as a younger kid,” the actor said. My very first Comic-Con, some people didn’t stand in my line because I was Black.”
“Stranger Things,” which just saw a resurgence in Netflix stats and the larger pop culture discussion with its Season 4 release in two parts this summer, tells the story of a group of four young boys who stumble upon a telekinetic girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and an alternate dimension located within their town of Hawkins, Indiana.
“Some people told me, ‘Oh, I didn’t want to be in your line because you were mean to Eleven,’” McLaughlin continued.
McLaughlin’s character Lucas has some doubts about the young girl, who can move things with her mind and — as revealed later in the series — can open and close gates into the dark realm, called “The Upside Down.” While Mike (Finn Wolfhard) immediately falls in love with her, Lucas wonders if she uses her powers for good or if she is connected to the evil that stems from The Upside Down.
“Even now, some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m Black,” he added. “Sometimes overseas you’ll feel the racism. You’ll feel the bigotry. It’s hard to talk about and for people to understand.”
“Stranger Things” has touched on racial discrimination in smaller moments throughout the show, like in the second season when the boys dress up as the Ghostbusters, and Mike just assumed that Lucas’ name tag will read Winston because as Lucas puts it, he’s the only Black one in the film. Following the fourth season, Jezebel, Teen Vogue and RogerEbert.com pointed out the striking part of the narrative in which Lucas and Erica are chased, and even held at gunpoint in Lucas’ case, by white antagonists. McLaughlin vocalized how he noticed he didn’t have as many social media followers as his central co-stars, despite being one of the original actors from Season 1.
“When I was younger, it definitely affected me a lot. My parents had to be like, ‘It’s the sad truth, but it’s because you’re the Black child on the show,’” McLaughlin said.
“Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin, I’m not loved,” he continued, “But that’s why, with this platform, I’m going to spread positivity and love because I do not give hate back to people who gave hate to me.”
The audience applauded the actor at the end of the clip.
