Caleb McLaughlin Addresses Racism From 'Stranger Things' Fans: 'Why Am I the Least Favorite?'

By Angel Goodman

(Photo : Netflix) STRANGER THINGS (L to R) Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

"Stranger Things" star Caleb McLaughlin breaks his silence on the unfair treatment he receives from Netflix fans compared to his co-stars.

Caleb McLaughlin's acting career dates back to 2012 when he starred in "The Lion King" musical. He, later on, rose to prominence for his role as Lucas Sinclair, one of the mainstays in the Netflix sci-fi horror drama series, "Stranger Things". The series first premiered in 2016 and is currently ongoing with four seasons up to now.

In a recent guest appearance at Comic-Con in Belgium over the weekend, the 20-year-old actor talked about an experience during his first Comic-con that stuck with him, as he had experienced mistreatment from fans at the time.

"It definitely took a toll on me as a younger kid. My very first Comic-Con, some people wouldn't stand in my line because I was Black." Caleb recalled. "Some people told me 'Oh, I didn't want to be in your line because you were mean to Eleven.'"

The fan had referenced his on-screen behavior to his co-star, Millie Bobbie Brown, during the first season of "Stranger Things".

Evident Discrimination on Social Media

Additionally, Caleb expressed that he had been feeling the unfair support from fans for quite some time now. Pertaining to his social media following, the "Concrete Cowboy" star noted that his follower count was lower than the rest of his co-stars.

"Why am I the least favorite?" Caleb expressed. "Why [do I have] the least amount of followers? I'm on the same show as everyone else from season one.'"

here's caleb talking about how he had to deal with racism just because he was "the black kid who was mean to eleven in season 1" and felt like it was important to share his thoughts on that :) #StrangerThings #TUDUM #CalebMcLaughlin @HComicConBE pic.twitter.com/JZoXS9aaBW
— liam ☾ (@soapymoony) September 25, 2022

The Sad Truth From His Parents

The "Stranger Things" star alludes to the unfair treatment from fans due to "racism". He went on to explain that he had a talk with his parents about the harsh reality of being a person of color in the industry.

"My parents had to be like, 'It's a sad truth, but it's because you're the Black child on the show, and I was like 'Wow, that's crazy.'" McLaughlin expressed. "Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin, I'm not loved. But that's why with my platform I want to spread positivity and love because I do not give hate back to people that give hate to me."

Despite the discrimination he felt from fans, Caleb expressed his desire to use his platform to spread positivity instead. The 20-year-old star has received numerous accolades during the course of his acting career.