Another awkward Pedro Pascal moment, this time with actress Sarah Paulson, is going viral for all the wrong reasons. And critics say the Hollywood machine is rushing to spin the narrative for Disney’s box office leading man hopeful before it spirals out of control.
On July 1st, footage surfaced from the London press night of Evita, starring Rachel Zegler. In the video, Pascal appears alongside longtime friend Sarah Paulson. What should have been a lighthearted red carpet moment has instead triggered widespread discomfort online.
Pedro Pascal and Sarah Paulson at the press night of ‘Evita’ starring Rachel Zegler. pic.twitter.com/fsBJczKxjn
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) July 1, 2025
Pascal, now 50, is seen wrapping an arm tightly around Paulson, rubbing it up and down repeatedly while whispering something into her ear. Paulson stands stiffly beside him, unsmiling. Some viewers believe she appears to pull away slightly, though the clip is too brief to confirm intent.
Still, the response was swift—and scathing.
She looks absolutely terrified
— Valliant Renegade (@ValliantRenegad) July 2, 2025
“She looks absolutely terrified,” wrote YouTuber Valliant Renegade.
The man is a walking HR nightmare.
— Force of Light Entertainment 🎙 (@ForceofLightEn1) July 2, 2025
“The man is a walking HR nightmare,” said YouTube channel Force of Light Entertainment on X.
John Lasseter got ran out Pixar cause he gave hugs. Meanwhile Pedro is full on trophy wife clutching lesbians who look uncomfortable to put it lightly and nothing is being done.
— Lord Botha of Memesalot (@LordBotha) July 2, 2025
YouTuber Lord Botha of Memesalot added: “John Lasseter got ran out [of] Pixar cause he gave hugs. Meanwhile Pedro is full on trophy wife clutching lesbians who look uncomfortable to put it lightly and nothing is being done.”
She looks like she’s going to cry
— Mad Overlord Studios (@Mad__Overlord) July 2, 2025
Mad Overlord Studios said: “She looks like she’s going to cry.”
There is definitely something wrong with this guy. Every video I see he seems to be forcing contact with women, and they clearly feel uncomfortable.
You can’t blame it on some BS anxiety or whatever was said. That he “needs to be touching someone”. It’s just creepy.
— Uncle Koco (@RealUncleKoco) July 2, 2025
And from Uncle Koco on X: “There is definitely something wrong with this guy. Every video I see he seems to be forcing contact with women, and they clearly feel uncomfortable. You can’t blame it on some BS anxiety or whatever was said. It’s just creepy.”
Yet less than 24 hours after the video began gaining traction, Vanity Fair swooped in with a conveniently timed article titled: “Sarah Paulson and Pedro Pascal’s Beautiful Friendship: A Timeline.”
Pedro Pascal at the Cannes Film Festival – Photo Credit: Gabriel Hutchinson Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The July 2nd feature paints the duo’s relationship as a decades-long, heartfelt bond dating back to the early ’90s, filled with movie nights, deep trust, and mutual support.
The piece makes no mention of the viral video from the Evita premiere. Instead, it focuses entirely on nostalgic anecdotes, like Paulson spotting Woody Harrelson with Pascal in a park or helping him financially during his struggling actor years. It even romanticizes their shared red carpet moments, describing physical affection between the two as common and benign.
To some, this was touching. To others, it looked like blatant media damage control.
Pedro Pascal on SNL – YouTube, Saturday Night Live
The suspicious timing hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Some immediately began connecting the dots—especially as this isn’t the first time Pedro Pascal has been called out for awkward or inappropriate physical contact and overall behavior around women.
Simply put, the Evita video isn’t an isolated incident.
A Growing Pattern
In recent months, we’ve seen a number of awkward Pedro Pascal moments with female co-stars that were consistently framed in the media as somehow wholesome or endearing.
Actress Dakota Johnson – Photo Credit: MTV International, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
- Dakota Johnson revealed on The Tonight Show that Pascal takes her clothes and wears them, pointing out a sweater he took and wore to a Stevie Nicks concert. “He takes my clothes. He does that a lot,” she said.
- In a separate press junket, Johnson revealed that Pascal suggested she start an adult content subscription site to sell photos of her feet—a joke that raised eyebrows for its overt awkwardness.
- Vanessa Kirby was on the receiving end of Pascal’s infamous arm rubbing incident at San Diego Comic-Con, which went viral for all the wrong reasons. At the time, Pascal said little and the media framed a story about Pascal’s anxiety and how Kirby was supporting him through touch. Now, media outlets like Vanity Fair have defended the moment, with Kirby countering that initial anxiety story to claim it was a show of solidarity between them. The headline of the story? “Everyone Wants a Piece of Pedro Pascal.”
Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby – YouTube, omeleteve
Now, with the Paulson video in circulation, it appears the media’s protective narrative is on autopilot—glossing over incident after incident with puff pieces and friendly profiles that redirect the story back to charm and vulnerability.
Is the Access Media Protecting Pedro Pascal?
As more uncomfortable moments involving Pedro Pascal go viral, some observers are beginning to question whether the mainstream entertainment press is deliberately working to manage the fallout.
A screenshot of Pedro Pascal dancing suggestively with a rainbow colored rod suggestively at an event – X, @pascalarchive
It’s no secret that Disney currently has significant financial interest in Pascal’s continued public favor. Between The Mandalorian and Grogu, Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and the upcoming Fantastic Four, the actor is at the center of multiple high-stakes franchises. Billions in potential box office revenue depend on his reputation as a marketable, likable leading man.
That’s why the timing of the Vanity Fair article has raised eyebrows. Dropped less than 24 hours after Pascal was trending for his physical interaction with Sarah Paulson, the glowing profile seems almost tailor-made to rewrite the narrative.
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
While it’s impossible to confirm intent, the Vanity Fair piece could be interpreted as an attempt by access media to dominate the search term “Pedro Pascal Sarah Paulson.” Instead of headlines critiquing his red carpet behavior, casual readers Googling the moment may now be met with a polished story of longtime wholesome friendship, emotional bonds, and nostalgia—effectively pushing the backlash out of view.
It’s a familiar pattern in celebrity press coverage. When criticism breaks out, friendly media outlets publish counter-narratives, helping studios protect their investment and maintain public goodwill. In this case, the speed and tone of the Vanity Fair piece suggest that a strategic effort may have been made to get ahead of the story before it snowballed.
(L-R): Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
To be clear, no evidence has surfaced directly linking the article’s publication to studio influence, and Vanity Fair has not commented on its timing. But the optics—and the pattern—are getting harder to ignore.
Pascal has not commented on the footage of him with Paulson, and Paulson herself has remained silent. But with each new viral moment comes another carefully timed media defense, leaving many to wonder how long Hollywood plans to look the other way.
Paul Mescal as Lucius and Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius in Gladiator II (2024), Paramount Pictures
Because while the public may have bought into “Internet Daddy” energy once, the mood is shifting. And if the July 2nd Vanity Fair piece was meant to quiet the backlash—it may have only confirmed what critics have suspected all along.
When the footage looks bad, Hollywood doesn’t apologize. It publishes a cover story.
How do you feel about the Pedro Pascal Sarah Paulson video? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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