Patterson talked about the disturbing scene while recapping an episode of the show on his podcast, 'I Am All In With Scott Patterson.'
Gilmore Girls star Scott Patterson is getting real about a scene from the hit show that still does not sit right with him.
During a new episode of his podcast, I Am All In With Scott Patterson, the actor, who played Luke Danes, Lorelai's friend turned lover, and owner of the often-visited Luke's Diner, was recapping a season 3 episode titled, "Keg! Max!," when he came across a scene that he called the most "disturbing time he ever had on set."
The actor said he was "shocked" by an exchange between Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy), in which they admire his butt after Sookie accidentally rests her hand on his backside. In an attempt to turn the awkward moment around, Lorelai turns it into a bit, proceeding to mention Luke's behind multiple times throughout the scene.
"That was disturbing. 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 on Sunday's 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."
Patterson said he couldn't wait for the day to be over, adding that the whole day on set became about that "butt" scene.
"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," he added. "It was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set, and I couldn’t wait for that day to be over."
While Patterson and his podcast co-hosts agreed that the scene would've never flown if the roles were reversed and the objectification was being placed onto a female character instead of a male one, he said it's equally as disgusting "for women to objectify men as it for men to objectify women and it’s as harmful."
"Just because it was 2003 didn’t mean it was OK," he added. "It’s never OK. And I didn’t feel comfortable doing it and it pissed me off."
Patterson said he never shared his feelings with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, and said he was "angry" at himself for never saying anything about how it made him feel at the time.
"I never said anything, so I was angry at myself for never saying anything," Patterson shared. "But, you know, I had this job and I didn’t want to make waves and all that."
While he loved his job, the humiliating moment had the now 63-year-old actor questioning why he was even doing the show.
"I mean, really, what am I involved in here? It really questioned why I was doing the show at the time," Patterson admitted. "Somebody had to pay the price for that. And I’m still paying the price for it."
Despite attributing some of his apprehension to speak up at the time in part to the "rigid" atmosphere on the Gilmore Girls set, one where he said actors were unable to "diverge from the script, ever," he reiterated his love for the series and his time as Luke.
"Look, I'm not complaining about having the job," Patterson maintained. "It was a great job, and means the world to me, and having one of those jobs on even a smaller network, means you're treated like visiting royalty every day."
"I mean, these jobs are rare, and they're fantastic to get them. I just thought that scene -- it shocked me to see that," he added.
Overall, Patterson said, the scene left him feeling "incredibly small" and like "some kind of meat stick."
Sherman-Palladino has yet to publicly respond to Patterson’s comments.
RELATED CONTENT
