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‘Stranger Things’ Fans Defend Caleb McLaughlin from ‘Fantasy Land’ Fans

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
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“Stranger Things” fans weren’t here for the Caleb McLaughlin hate. (Jenny Anderson/WireImage)

This post contains spoilers about Netflix’s “Stanger Things.”

It seems as if “Stranger Things” fans have had a hard time separating actor Caleb McLaughlin from his character Lucas Sinclair. And as a result, fans are lending their support to the young actor.

The star of the highly-buzzed about Netflix series spoke about his belief that people would hate him based on his character’s hesitation to welcome a female newcomer named Eleven during season one. He hoped people would be able to separate fiction from real life, and not despise him.

But he discovered that they, in fact, did.

One fan tweeted a video in October explaining how Laughlin’s realization broke their heart. The post only recently gained traction on Monday, Nov. 13.

https://twitter.com/bloodysinclair/status/916811256471916545

“I felt like people would understand because who would invite this random person?” McLaughlin says in a promotional interview. “For the people that weren’t stuck in fantasy land — because a lot of people were stuck in fantasy land, in my opinion. We find this random girl. Her nose is bleeding, she has blood on her shirt, she closes doors with her mind…would you trust someone that doesn’t really give up information?”

Cut to an interview with the Build Series where the 16-year-old discusses “Stranger Things 2,” and McLaughlin said people would approach him to share their hatred for him.

“I’m like, first of all, I’m an actor,” he says. “Like, can you just say hi to me? I’m Caleb McLaughlin, not Lucas Sinclair.”

On Monday, fans of the series, which follows a group of boys faced with investigating the creepy disappearance of their friend, were weighing in on the matter.

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A couple passionately agreed with Lucas for being guarded around Eleven, who escaped from Hawkins Lab where she was being poked and prodded.

Others found it disheartening that fans conflated McClaughlin with his character.

Meanwhile, some just wanted to fight the haters.

And many pointed to racism as the culprit.

Of course, there was at least one who disagreed with that idea.

So far, McLaughlin nor his “Stranger Things” castmembers have responded to the uproar. It remains to be seen if he’ll continue to face the same negativity when the show returns for a third season.

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