Scott Patterson won over the hearts of viewers as the grumpy diner owner in Gilmore Girls when the series first aired, and won them again when the series had a four-episode revival in 2016.
Scott has been in several films and shows, such as several Saw movies, had a small appearance in Seinfeld, and even had a brief baseball career, but he’ll forever be Luke Danes in the hearts of Gilmore fans.
Lately, Scott’s been hosting his I Am All In podcast, where he rewatches Gilmore Girls and discusses a bit about the episodes.
One episode in particular struck the actor the wrong way as he was rewatching, and he knew he would dread it when it came up.
Season 3 Episode 19 is titled Keg! Max! but it holds a scene that Scott wishes he had spoken out against at the time of filming and regrets staying silent.
In one scene, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) talk about his butt after an accidental touch, and in true Lorelai nature, she commits to the bit and keeps mentioning it.
Coming back to the scene now, Scott expressed his distaste for the whole thing.
Scott Patterson recalls ‘most disturbing time’ on set
Scott revealed that the scene was “disturbing” and that the scene wasn’t a good idea to film, and he was entirely uncomfortable throughout the whole ordeal.
He added, “It is infuriating to be treated that way — it is infuriating — because you’re being treated like an object. It’s disturbing, and it’s disgusting. And I had to endure that through that entire scene and many takes.”
As if that wasn’t enough, he revealed that the comments didn’t end there, and everyone kept bringing up the butt throughout the entire day.
He stated, “It was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set, and I couldn’t wait for that day to be over.”
He feels a “level of shame” now for never bringing it up to the creator, but noted that the scenes were generally very strict and actors weren’t allowed to stray away from the script, “ever.”
The scene makes him feel a bit angry that it happened, and he added that it’s never okay for anyone to objectify someone else.
Scott Patterson felt like a ‘meat stick’ due to objectifying scene
He also revealed that he was never thrilled to do the scene, but wanted to keep things calm because he didn’t want to lose work over bringing up his feelings, despite the fact that never bringing it up resulted in him being angry with himself.
Though he has given the series great praise and said that it means a lot to him, he said that this scene made him feel “incredibly small” and as if he were “some kind of meat stick.”
“It’s as disgusting for women to objectify men as it for men to objectify women and it’s as harmful.”
At this time, the creators have not commented.