“Stranger Things” star Gaten Matarazzo said a 40-year-old mother once told him that he’d been her crush since he was in his young teens.
The actor, who is 21 now, opened up about the incident during his appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s comedy podcast “Inside of You.” At the time, he was discussing some of his most “uncomfortable” moments with fans.
“I did one very recently — and this is not very funny, but the reactions around it were quite funny — where this woman in her 40s said straight up, ‘I’ve had a crush on you since you were 13,’” Matarazzo explained. “And I was like, ‘That’s upsetting.’ I’m sure she just meant, ‘Aw, this kid’s cute.’”
He went on to explain that the woman, who was with her young teenage daughter at the time, maintained her feelings about Matarazzo despite the hefty age gap.
“She was like, ‘I’m aware of the age difference.’ And then I was like, ‘Alright.’ And her daughter was with her, and her daughter goes, ‘Mom, what the f–k?’ I swear to God.” He added that he never found the exchange to be humorous in any way.
“Did you start laughing?” Rosenbaum asked.
“I couldn’t,” Matarazzo said. “Like, ‘Thank you guys for coming. I appreciate it.’ And then I look over at my mother, and my mother was right there! My mother was sitting next to me. That was insane … Yeah, that was rough.”
Matarazzo has had his role as Dustin Henderson since the show’s launch in 2016. The show is likely set to come out with its fifth season sometime in 2025. The cast includes Matarazzo, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLauhglin, Sadie Sink and more.
