Scott Patterson Recalls Feeling Objectified On ‘Gilmore Girls’ Set

Scott Patterson, an actor best known for playing Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls, spoke up about a season three episode of the acclaimed series that made him uncomfortable.

He discussed it on his IHeartRadio podcast I’m All In, which focuses on past episodes of the series. He reflected on this episode that he felt objectified and wished he had spoken up about it at the time.

The episode was titled “Keg! Max!” And featured a recurring joke of series stars Lorelei Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) discussing his character Luke’s butt.

After filming the joke scene for several takes, Patterson said, “It made me feel really embarrassed, actually. It is infuriating to be treated that way – it is infuriating – because you’re being treated like an object.”

He added that the banter around his body continued off camera. “It was all about the butt, the butt, the butt, the butt. When we weren’t filming, we were sitting down – people were still talking about the butt … I couldn’t wait for that day to be over,” Patterson said.

No matter the actor’s gender, they should never leave a set feeling uncomfortable. It’s also worth remembering that female actresses frequently put up with these issues much more often on the job.

Patterson said he neglected to speak up because “I had this job, and I didn’t want to make waves.”

None of Patterson’s co-stars or the series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino have responded to his comments.

While the overwhelming percentage of actors who have been speaking out about unfair conditions have been actresses discussing harassment during the Me Too movement, several actors have also been emboldened to speak up about their negative experiences.

This included Brendan Fraser, who spoke about being groped by a Hollywood executive and subsequently blacklisted when he rebuffed it.