“Gilmore Girls” star Scott Patterson recalled being treated like an object on set of the show and said it’s just as “harmful” for “men to be objectified by women” as it is the reverse.
During the 63-year-old actor’s “I Am All In” podcast earlier this week, the host opened up about one day on the set of the hit show for an episode in Season 3 that aired in 2003 titled “Keg! Max!” The discussion centered that around how that day it became all about his character, Luke Danes’ butt and he said “objectifying somebody’s body part” isn’t okay.
In the show, Lauren Graham’s character and her co-worker character, played by Melissa McCarthy, talk about his butt after McCarthy’s character “accidentally touched” his butt.
“I realized it wasn’t OK, and it didn’t make me feel comfortable at all,” Patterson shared. “It made me feel really embarrassed, actually,” Patterson shared. “It is infuriating to be treated that way — it is infuriating — because you’re being treated like an object.”
‘Gilmore Girls’ Actor Scott Patterson Recalls Feeling Objectified During Season 3 Scene: “It Is Infuriating” https://t.co/7CJ0RuRqYk
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 25, 2022
“It’s disturbing, and it’s disgusting, and I had to endure that through that entire scene and many takes,” he added. “It was all about the butt, the butt, the butt, the butt. And then when we weren’t filming, we were sitting down — people were still talking about the butt, the butt, the butt. It was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set, and I couldn’t wait for that day to be over.”
“It’s as disgusting for women to objectify men as it is for men to objectify women, and it’s as harmful,” the actor continued later in the segment. “Just because it was 2003 doesn’t mean it was OK. It’s never OK, and I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, and it pissed me off. And I never said anything, so I was angry at myself for never saying anything. But I had this job, and I didn’t want to make waves and all that.”
The TV actor said he felt like “some kind of meat stick” and said he didn’t say anything cause he didn’t want to “make waves” on the job, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
Patterson started his podcast in 2021 in which he promised to rewatch the show, all “154 episodes and 4 movies.”