Actor and musician Scott Patterson was very upset about a “Gilmore Girls” scene that he says objectified his body. Patterson revealed how much the comedy drama-series scene still affects him now.
He opened up to co-hosts Danielle Romo and Amy Sugarman on an episode of his podcast “I Am All In with Scott Patterson.” On the podcast, he recalled some behind-the-scenes moments from the show’s “Keg! Max!” episode.
The actor shared that his backside was the subject of attention in the scene and that all the attention made him feel like a “meat stick,” among other things.
Keep reading to find out more.
The ‘Butt’ Scene
Patterson played Luke Danes, the diner owner, in all seven seasons of the show. He recalled season 3, episode 19, where the other characters, Sookie St. James (played by Melissa McCarthy) and Lorelai Gilmore (played by Lauren Graham), talked about his backside.
The discussion started when McCarthy’s character, Sookie, admitted to mistakenly touching his while he lay on his side fixing a car. Thinking back at the scene, Patterson revealed that he felt uncomfortable. He said, “I realized it wasn’t okay, and it didn’t make me feel comfortable at all.”
Patterson continued, “It made me feel really embarrassed, actually.” He was also disgusted by the scene, which he said they had to film several times. The actor said, “It was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set.”
Scott Patterson Was Upset
Following the long discussion between the two women in the scene, Patterson’s character, Luke Danes, told the women that their side talk about his butt was in “bad taste.” Neither of the actresses had any idea that the discussion upset Patterson in real life.
He was even more upset about the conversations about his butt after they were done filming the scene. The “Saw” star recalled, “when we weren’t filming, we were sitting down — people were still talking about the butt, the butt, the butt.”
While he was upset with the discussion, he was even more upset at the show’s creators, Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Dan Palladino, for writing the script that way and focusing on parts of his body.
Scott Patterson Felt Objectified By The Scene
The now 63-year-old also said that he felt objectified, but he couldn’t do anything about it. “It’s infuriating because you’re being treated like an object,” he said. “And it’s disturbing and it’s disgusting, and I had to endure that through that entire scene and many takes,”
He then called out the creators again for taking advantage of characters to embarrass and humiliate them. He said, “This is how the creator of that show sees that character that you can humiliate him and take away his dignity in that entire scene, and that’s okay and that wasn’t okay with me.”
Patterson also revealed that he felt very self-conscious during rehearsals as well. They had to read out the scenes to the cast and crew, which made him uncomfortable. While recalling the experience, he said he wished he had done something to stop it.
The “Aliens in America” star was also worried about getting objectified by fans and viewers at the time. He then recalled thinking of what Emmy Award judges would say about the scene if the show were ever considered for nomination.
He Was Angry At Himself
Patterson insisted that it was never okay to objectify anyone, no matter what year it was. “Just because it was 2003 didn’t mean it was okay,” he said, “It’s never okay.” He also said that he was disappointed in himself for agreeing to do the scene.
Patterson said, “And I didn’t feel comfortable doing it and it pissed me off.” He also felt upset at himself for keeping quiet for so long. “I never said anything, so I was angry at myself for never saying anything,” he said, “But, you know, I had this job and I didn’t want to make waves and all that.”
As the conversation evolved, Patterson described his feelings during the scene, saying that he felt like an “incredibly small…kind of meat stick” and couldn’t wait for it to be done. He said, “I couldn’t wait for that day to be over.”