‘Stranger Things’ Star Gaten Matarazzo Recalls a Mother in Her 40s Admitting She’d Had a Crush on Him Since He Was 13

Gaten Matarazzo has shared a story about an interaction with a fan that left him deeply uncomfortable.

The Stranger Things actor talked about the moment during his appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s comedy podcast Inside of You, which is the source of the story.

Matarazzo, who is 23 years old now, was speaking about awkward experiences he has had with fans over the years. While many of those moments can be brushed off, he said one recent encounter stood out for the wrong reasons. During a meet-and-greet, a woman in her 40s made a comment that immediately shocked him.

“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 said on the podcast.

He explained that he didn’t know how to respond and felt disturbed by the comment. “And I was like, ‘That’s upsetting.’ I’m sure she just meant, ‘Aw, this kid’s cute.’”

The situation became even more uncomfortable when the woman doubled down on what she said. According to Matarazzo, she openly acknowledged the age gap between them. “She was like, ‘I’m aware of the age difference.’ And then I was like, ‘Alright,’” he recalled.

What made the moment even more awkward was that the woman was not alone. She was there with her young teenage daughter, who reacted immediately. “And her daughter was with her, and her daughter goes, ‘Mom, what the f***?’ I swear to God,” Matarazzo said. He made it clear that he did not find the situation funny at all.

Rosenbaum asked him if he laughed it off, but Matarazzo said he couldn’t. “I couldn’t,” he replied. “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 played Dustin Henderson on Stranger Things since the show first premiered in 2016. The Netflix series recently ended to a critical acclaim and record viewership. Alongside Matarazzo, the cast includes Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin and Sadie Sink.

Outside of Stranger Things, Matarazzo continues to work in voice acting. He is set to appear in Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy as Sig Greebling and in the animated series Haunted Hotel, where he voices the character Randy in the episode titled Randy Slasher.

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