A few years ago, Caleb McLaughlin opened up about being treated unfairly by some viewers of the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Caleb was 14 when he starred as Lucas Sinclair in Season 1 of the fantasy show, alongside fellow main cast members Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, and Millie Bobby Brown.
Despite the fact that Caleb’s role is integral throughout the series, he sadly didn’t receive the same love and support from some Stranger Things viewers that his costars did.
And during a 2022 appearance at Heroes Comic Con in Belgium, he opened up about how this impacted him, stating that he was singled out because of his race. “My very first Comic-Con, some people didn’t stand in my line because I was Black,” he said. “Some people told me: ‘Oh, I didn’t want to be in line because you were mean to [Millie’s character] Eleven,’ even now some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m Black.”
“Sometimes overseas, you’ll feel the racism,” he said. “You’ll feel the bigotry, and sometimes it’s hard to talk about and for people to understand… When I was younger, it definitely affected me a lot because — this is a deep conversation right now — you’re like: ‘Why am I the least favorite? The least amount of followers? I’m on the same show as everybody from Season 1.’”
At the time, Caleb had 15.4 million Instagram followers, while his peers were millions ahead of him; Gaten had 18.7M, Finn had 26.3M, Noah had 27.6M, and Millie had 58.5M. Four years later, Caleb’s Instagram following has only increased by about 100,000, while some cast members have seen a huge increase in their social media following — like Millie, who now has over 72 million IG followers.
Caleb recalled at the 2022 event, “My parents had to be like: ‘It’s a sad truth, but it’s because you’re the Black child on the show.’ Wow, that’s crazy. Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin I’m not loved?”
He added, “That’s why, with my platform, I’m going to spread positivity and love because I’m not giving hate back to people who are giving hate to me.”
Caleb has stuck to his word and continued to spread positivity over the years — and thankfully, this past weekend, he was showered with love from Stranger Things fans at a convention held in Paris.
Caleb was joined by a bunch of his fellow Stranger Things cast members at the fan convention, where viewers of the show could meet the actors. Some fans have since shared footage of their experiences meeting Caleb, which quickly went viral on X and reminded others of his past comments about being treated unfairly.
Reacting to a video that showed long queues of fans waiting to meet Caleb, one popular X post read, “When Caleb said a few years ago that no one would stand in his line because of his character/being black. Look at him now! So many people lining up to see him & support him. You will always be loved, Caleb. ALWAYS. You truly deserve it all.”
Meanwhile, fans on TikTok praised Caleb’s “respectful” demeanor as they wished him “the best for his career ahead.”
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