While talking at the Heroes Comic Con in Brussels on September 25, the 20-year-old Caleb McLaughlin shared the racism he experienced from the show’s fans.
Mclaughlin, who plays Lucas on Netflix‘s banger Stranger Things, revealed the racism he has experienced since the beginning of the show in 2016.
“It definitely took a toll on me as a younger kid. At my first Comic-Con, some people wouldn’t stand in my line because I was Black. Some people told me, ‘Oh, I didn’t want to be in your line because you were mean to Eleven.’ Even now, some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m Black. Sometimes overseas, you feel the racism. You feel the bigotry. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about and for people to understand, but it definitely affected me a lot when I was younger.”
At the event, Caleb McLaughlin admitted that he was entering a “deep dialogue,” but he allowed that his younger self might wonder, “Why am I the least favorite? Who has the fewest followers? Everybody from season 1 is on the same program that I am.”
“It was up to my parents to say things like, It’s a terrible fact, but you’re the only Black kid on the program… I’m not adored because I was born with this lovely chocolate complexion,” he said. “But because I do not return hatred to those who have shown it to me, this is why I wish to share love and optimism through my platform.”
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