Paul Mescal was groped by female fan after posing for photo: “It was so gross”
Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal has claimed that he was recently groped by a fan after a performance in London.
The incident occurred when Mescal starred in a production of the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre in North London. In a new interview with the Evening Standard Magazine, the Irishman opened up about the woman who “put her hand on my ass” as they posed for a photograph.
“As we posed for it, she put her hand on my ass. I thought it was an accident, so I like [moved away] but the hand followed,” he told the publication. Mescal continued: “I remember tensing up and feeling just, like, fury. I turned to her and said, ‘What’re you doing? Take your hand off my ass’.”
Mescal reluctantly called out the inappropriate behaviour and admitted it was “the last thing I want to do”, but he felt there was no other choice. He continued: “It’s uncomfortable for everyone involved. But it was really not OK. It was so gross, creepy.” The star of Aftersun went on to discuss the downsides of fame, and said how 97% of it is “really nice” but the other 3% was equivalent to “somebody, like, grabbing your ass”.
Last month, Mescal was nominated for ‘Best Actor’ by the Academy Awards for his role in Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut, Aftersun. He was also nominated in the same category at the BAFTAs but lost out to Austin Butler’s performance in Elvis.
If Mescal is to win his first Oscar, he will need to seek retribution against Butler, who is again nominated for his portrayal of Elvis Presley. Additionally, Brendan Fraser received a nod for a transformative performance in The Whale, Bill Nighy is nominated for Living, and Colin Farrell is also shortlisted for his work in The Banshees of Inisherin.
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