Scott Patterson, known for playing diner owner Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls, is opening up about a day that he didn’t enjoy while on the set of the popular series.
During the latest installment of I Am All In, his podcast in which he revisits creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s series, Patterson discussed the season three episode entitled “Keg! Max!” that aired in April 2003. Specifically, the actor focused on a scene from the Warner Bros.-backed program in which Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her co-worker Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) continually discuss Luke’s butt after Sookie accidentally puts her hand on his backside.
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“I realized it wasn’t OK, and it didn’t make me feel comfortable at all. It made me feel really embarrassed, actually,” Patterson said about feeling that his body was objectified in the episode. “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. 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, the butt, the butt. It was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set, and I couldn’t wait for that day to be over.”
Patterson, who is also known for appearing in the Saw film franchise, recalled that it was particularly difficult to film this in front of the show’s team, and that he believed it took away his character’s dignity. At the time, Luke was in a relationship with Nicole (Tricia O’Kelley), although he would later marry Lorelai. The actor also said he was frustrated at himself for not speaking up back then, adding that he didn’t want to “make waves” with his colleagues on the series that ended up airing six seasons on The WB, a final one on The CW and a revival miniseries with Netflix.
“It’s as disgusting for women to objectify men as it is for men to objectify women, and it’s as harmful,” he continued. “Just because it was 2003 doesn’t mean it was OK. It’s never OK, and I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, and it pissed me off. And I never said anything, so I was angry at myself for never saying anything. But I had this job, and I didn’t want to make waves and all that.”
Patterson recalled feeling “incredibly small” during the scene and also said he felt like “some kind of meat stick.” While he clarified that his role on the show “was a great job and means the world to me,” the scene caused him to question why he was doing the series at the time. He added about the show’s jokey exchange, “Somebody had to pay the price for that, and I’m still paying the price.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment.
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