If your TikTok algorithm is similar to mine, you’ve probably seen at least one or two fan edits of Pedro Pascal pop up on your For You Page. What you may not know if you aren’t active on Twitter, though, is that there has been a landslide of controversy following the popular creator “dvcree” and her Rolling Stone article discussing her recent virality. So how did this debate start?
On January 20th, TikTok fancam creator “dvcree”, or Sandra, posted an edit of Pedro Pascal set to the song “Hey Sexy Lady” by Shaggy. It very quickly went viral and started a resurgence of his fans popping up all over social media. As the creator gained more popularity, she began to be criticized for oversexualizing the actor with many commenters finding her edits, specifically one clip from the show “Narcos” displaying Pascal’s pelvic area, inappropriate.
By February 10th, Sandra had been interviewed by CT Jones, and her article was published by Rolling Stone where she received even more backlash due to the fact that the article was originally published in a way that misconstrued Sandra’s intentions. The original publication of the article, aptly titled “Creator of the Viral Pedro Pascal Fancam Explains Why the Actor Is TikTok’s Favorite Daddy”, stated that “Pascal is a huge supporter of his transgender sister Lux – which makes it easier for people to sexualize even his most intense characters”, seemingly suggesting that his connection to the LGBT community gave reason to sexualize him. However, Sandra wrote on her TikTok that, “I found it easier to support him and be a fan of his knowledge he’s very vocal about the community… not that it gave him a sex appeal and a reason for me to sexualize him.” The article was later edited to change “sexualize” to “stan”.
So what does this mean for the future of TikTok edits? Creators are going to have to be more careful with the content they produce in order to avoid the wrath of Twitter, especially when their words are taken out of context or misunderstood. It also brings into question the ethics of edits that are sexual in nature and where to draw the line when it comes to “sexualizing” a character, actor, or celebrity. It’s guaranteed that you’ll still be able to get your Pedro Pascal thirst trap fix, but the format may transform due to controversies like these.