Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin Recalls Racism He’s Faced From Fans: ‘It Took a Toll on Me’

usmagazine.com:

Speaking his truth. Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin got candid about his experience in Hollywood — including the racism he’s faced since stepping into the spotlight.“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,” McLaughlin, 20, revealed during the Heroes Comic Con in Brussels on Sunday, September 25. “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 when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot.”The New York native, who has portrayed Lucas Sinclair on the Netflix hit since its inception in 2016, questioned why he was perpetually the “least favorite” actor from the series — which also stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp and more — and wondered why he receives less support on social media.“Why am I the least favorite?” the Concrete Cowboy actor asked on Sunday. “Why [do I have] the least amount of followers?

I’m on the same show as everyone else from season 1.’”The High Flying Bird star revealed that his mom and dad had to point out the possible racism and bigotry he would face in the industry for him to connect the dots.“My parents had to be like, ‘It’s a sad truth, but it’s because you’re the Black child on the show,'” he explained. “And I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.'”While McLaughlin has a lofty 15.4 million Instagram followers, his costars have significantly more — Brown, 18, lands at 58.5 million, while Schnapp, 17, and Wolfhard, 19, are