Bella Ramsey Explains Why They 'Worried' About Pedro Pascal's 'Daddy' Label

On his first day off in ages, and probably the last day off for ages more, Pedro Pascal sat down opposite Karen Valby for a heartfelt, vulnerable, and funny interview with Vanity Fair.

Between promoting Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday, Materialists, Eddington, and the shattering wrap of The Last of Us, Pascal has been busy.

After struggling up through his thirties and early forties, Pascal broke out onto the Hollywood scene in a big way. While hosting the Critics Choice Awards in 2023, Chelsea Handler quipped that the year could also be called, "The year everyone became horny for Pedro Pascal."

With that fixation came an influx of comments from fans, ranging from the usual compliments to confessions of attraction, but many people also took their comments to another level, hinting at the depth of their attraction for the actor and even giving him nicknames like "Daddy."

Pascal is no stranger to nicknames, as his friends and family call him "Pepelo," "Pipi," "Pedders," "Peds," and since The Last of Us, "Pepsi," but "Daddy" and "Zaddy" were something new for the now 50-year-old actor.

Previously during a Lie Detector series with Vanity Fair in 2022, Pascal quipped about the nickname, clearly joking:

"Daddy is a state of mind. I'm your daddy."

But Pascal's The Last of Us costar, Bella Ramsey, voiced their concern about the nickname.

"I felt worried for him. I want to protect him from that whole joke of becoming the internet's daddy."

"I was like, 'I don't want everyone to refer to you as that and see you as that. You're so much more.'"

Ramsey's candor particularly caught fans' attention on Twitter (X) and the "fauxmoi" subReddit, though there were mixed reactions to their concern for Pascal.

Some found Ramsey's concern for their friend to be incredibly wholesome and honest.

After all, Ramsey and Pascal worked together for years on The Last of Us, and they were likely just looking out for Pascal. By saying he was "so much more than that," they were probably more concerned about him being unnecessarily objectified, not to mention reduced to a sex symbol rather than all of the acting prowess and talent he obviously had to offer.

"This is such a pure and genuine thing to feel about your friend." - bryandan1elsonV2

"I can understand where she’s coming from, to be honest." - coralinejonnnes

"That’s sort of adorable." - Betray-Julia

Others, while they did not see it as exactly "wholesome," understood Ramsey's concern.

With the prevalence of social media, parasocial relationships are more common and intense than ever, and it can be a serious and concerning slippery slope from a joking comment to inappropriate objectification, comments, and entitlement.

"I get where they are coming from. People can take things too far and develop a parasocial relationship with a man who doesn't even know they exist." - Brave_Lady

"I don't care for it either. A lot of his fans get carried away with it, and it becomes creepy." - mysilentface

"I really hope he is unaware of just how far some take it. As a quip, it’s funny, and I’d guess that’s more what his thought was." - resilentrique

"I'm pretty sure that he has specifically said that while he found it kind of weird but funny at first, but it went too far and makes him uncomfortable. He has also said something similar to what Bella is saying here. That it isn't what he wants to be mostly associated with, and fears that it would diminish him being seen as a serious actor." - annamdue

"I mean, Pedro initially seemed ok with it, but as the joke laste,d he definitely seemed uncomfortable with the label bc they get so graphic."

"I remember the time a reporter referred him to Zaddy and had him read thirst tweets about himself and tried to get him to say his favorite aloud. He refused and looked really uncomfortable by the whole thing."

"People take it too far." - Big-Ambitions-8258

But others thought that Ramsey was making something out of nothing.

While the comments were not entirely in agreement, some felt that Pascal should focus on controlling what was within his control: his reaction to these potential remarks and his reading of the comments to begin with.

"Can't he be that and so much more at the same time? Get what they're saying, but also it's not that serious to me." - jonsnowme

"Pedro has literally openly leaned into the moniker of daddy, like he actively references it in interviews and even did a full SNL sketch on it. This is... immensely silly." - tigerimmersive

"He said something like he didn't like it. However, he's also a people pleaser, so he said whatever they want to call him. Fans took that as permission. Pedro can only control his reaction." - glowup2000

Ultimately, the most important thing is that Pascal feels comfortable and safe, and fans respect his boundaries if he wants the comments to be scaled back. In the meantime, having a few friends in his corner advocating for him as a person surely can't hurt.