Grease actor Eddie Deezen sparks backlash after revealing he asked out 16-year-old girl and comparing response to homophobia
Grease actor Eddie Deezen has sparked major backlash online after revealing he asked an underaged girl out before comparing the internet's response to homophobia.
Deezen, 69, played nerdy student Eugene Felsnic in the 1978 film Grease, and he recently took to social media to share an anecdote about asking out a 16-year-old girl at Starbucks.
The now-deleted Facebook post begins: "Ok, I was very nervous, but I made myself go over and talk to her. I clenched my fists and walked over to her table. This just happened."
Deezen, who has no children but was previously married to Linda George, then typed out a reportedly 'verbatim' exchange of the interaction.
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Eddie Deezen's full post
He began: "Me: Hi. Can I sit down?
"Her: Sure (Big smile).
"Me: (Happy she was so friendly and nice). My name is Eddie. You're the most beautiful girl I've seen in a long time. I'm in the movie Grease. I wondered if I could take you out sometime. If you have a boyfriend, I understand.
"Her: I can't. I'm underage.
"Me: What? What do you mean?
"Her: I'm underage.
"Me: How old are you?
"Her: I'm sixteen.
"Me: Oh. I see. Ok. Well, think of me when you watch Grease.
"Her: I will."
Deezen claimed that he and the minor then shook hands before he left the Starbucks location.
'Offended by this? Interesting'
The actor continued in a post: "This is will be my last post on what happened today. I will just write it and then I will not mention it again. My thoughts and opinions are included.
"Ok, this incident just happened totally spontaneously - I was just reading my Beatles book and drinking my tea at Starbucks and then this absolutely gorgeous girl walked in.
"I saw her and yes, I was attracted to her. I thought she was a college girl, maybe about 23. I have been so blessed in so many ways in life, OMG - unbelievably blessed, but being handsome or a Ladies Man or being confident with beautiful girls are not part of my blessings.
"I was looking over Facebook, surfing, and I just wrote spontaneously what was going on. I know this may seem odd or unusual to some, but these people obviously do not know me, I am a very open poster on Facebook.
"So I posted four posts about what was happening. The girl was sitting there on her computer and I said to myself, I'm going to go over and talk to her. I stood up and did not move for a minute or two, then I walked over to her and our conversation took place. Offended by this? Interesting."
'More pearl clutching'
Deezen went on to compare the backlash to his interaction with the teenager, who was 53 years younger than him, to homophobia and transphobia.
"I was a guy attracted to a girl, I had no idea of her age, and I asked her out," he wrote. "I know this makes certain kinds of people clutch their pearls and get their bowels in an uproar. What if it was a man, a grown man, I asked out?
"In certain places I would be killed for this, in other places, In other minds, I would be looked upon as sick or almost not human. Same as if I were an adult woman and I thought another woman was hot and did the same.
"And others would see this and hear this and hate them for homophobia. And what of men who want to be women and vice-versa? More pearl clutching. Aren't we selectively offended."
The actor continued to claim the interaction was an 'honest mistake', saying that he later blocked three people for 'very cruel comments'.
"Look, I get it: There are many sad and lonely people out there, and many lonely people who crave attention. Believe it or not, I have great, great compassion for them," Deezen wrote.
"But not to the point where they can insult me and call me names. One or two I blocked, then I looked at their Facebook page-each had exactly one friend. So these poor, pathetic people actually got blocked, and got a new page, just so they could insult me.
"I saw all the commenters for what they are. A vast majority good and loyal friends. The others - I honestly pity them, they are in a dark place."
He rounded off the post alerting his followers he'd be 'back posting as usual tomorrow'.
"Take down the post? Are you kidding? And let evil and hate win?" the actor concluded.
After catching light of Deezen's comments, many people rushed online to call him out for asking out what he allegedly thought was a 'college girl' who was 'maybe about 23' in the first place given his age of nearly 70 years old.
Others were quick to shut down Deezen comparing the backlash and outrage he got in response to homophobia.
"Ok just this once I’m fairly confident I can speak for LGBT+ people everywhere when I say 'leave us the hell out of it you giant weirdo?!?'" penned one Reddit user.
A second hit out: "Exactly. Like are you comparing an elderly man being attracting to a child to being queer? Like no thank you! You’re not some oppressed minority."
And a third echoed: "Commented elsewhere in here about exactly this. Like being a predator (even if he thought she was 23, he is still 70) is equivalent to being queer.
"So sick of these guys trying to say they’re a part of our community. Not only are you not under our umbrella, you are in the rain on the opposite side of town."
Tyla has reached out to Eddie Deezen's representatives for comment.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
Topics: Celebrity, TV And Film, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle