Patterson discusses the time he felt like “a piece of meat” — and even reconsidered his place on the series — while filming Gilmore Girls
Scott Patterson wasn’t always happy with his portrayal on Gilmore Girls.
The actor called out one “objectifying” scene from season 3 scene, in which Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) commented on the “nice shape” of his character Luke’s behind, on Tuesday’s episode his I Am All In with Scott Patterson podcast.
“Objectifying somebody’s body part? Yeah, that was disturbing,” said Patterson, 63. “It is infuriating because you’re being treated like an object. And it’s disturbing and it’s disgusting, and I had to endure that through that entire scene and many takes … it was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set. I couldn’t wait for that day to be over.”
Patterson added that the scene made him feel like “some kind of meat stick.”
The actor is aware that Hollywood regularly objectifies female characters — and reminded listeners that it’s not different with a man in the role. “It’s as disgusting for women to objectify men as it for men to objectify women and it’s as harmful.”
“Just because it was 2003 didn’t mean it was okay. It’s never okay. And I didn’t feel comfortable doing it and it pissed me off,” he continued. “I never said anything so I was angry at myself for never saying anything but, you know, I had this job and I didn’t want to make waves and all that.”
Patterson also added that he became skeptical of his time on the show — based on how the show’s creators saw him and his character, as well as his potential to be nominated for an Emmy with such a body-forward plot.
He urged listeners to imagine his situation: “Stand there in front of all those people filming and this is how the creator of that show sees that character. That you can humiliate him and take away his dignity that entire scene and that’s okay,” he said. “That’s the one thing I hate about this episode is that scene.”
Still, Patterson added, he understands why viewers laughed at the scene due to the comedic editing and strong acting by all in the scene.
Gilmore Girls originally aired from 2000 to 2007 on The WB. A reboot of the series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, aired four episodes on Netflix in 2016.
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