Los Angeles, April 20 (IANS) Hollywood actor Josh Hutcherson, who is known for his work in ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise, has spoken up on the online backlash he received last year for not being a Taylor Swift fan.
The actor has said it’s exactly why he stays off the internet. The famously offline actor reflected on reentering the worldwide web last year during the press tour for Rachel Sennott’s HBO show ‘I Love L.A.’, and a certain Swift comment that got him in hot water, reports ‘Variety’.
During a video interview with i-D Magazine, Josh and his castmate Jordan Firstman played a game of camera roll roulette and Hutcherson pulled up a photo of him and his mom in the VIP section at Swift’s Era Tour in New Orleans. “My mom made me”, Josh said of the concert, prompting Firstman to ask if he’s a fan of Swift.
“I’m not a Swiftie”, he replied. “Very much not. No shade, all respect, but definitely not”.
As per ‘Variety’, this prompted a firestorm on social media, with some fans calling for Hutcherson to be canceled for accepting VIP tickets when he’s not really a fan.
Responding to the backlash, the actor told GQ, “I got some heat because I did a photo shoot with Jordan, and Jordan asked me something about being a (Taylor Swift fan), and I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m definitely not a Swiftie’. All of a sudden it garnered this, ‘F*** him! He’s a monster! Destroy him. He’s short. He hates her because he’s short. It’s just like, whoa! I think she’s great. Her music is not my kind of music. That is why I don’t want to be online”.
Since ‘I Love L.A.’ has been out in the world, the actor has returned to his offline ways. “I don’t need that energy. It’s counterintuitive to my job, because if people know you more, you can’t disappear into characters. They see you as, ‘Oh, that’s Josh.’ You know what I mean? So, if you’re a fucking meme, people know you for the meme”, he added.
–IANS
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