A new Pedro Pascal social anxiety meme has been circulating in reaction to the many touchy-feely interactions between him and actress Vanessa Kirby during the press tour for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the film, Pascal plays Mister Fantastic / Reed Richards as the intelligent leader of the superhero team while Kirby plays his wife Invisible Woman / Sue Storm. Their romance is a pivotal part of the movie, and this “showmance” has come out in interviews and red carpet appearances with them holding hands, embracing, and otherwise being affectionate. Pascal has been open about his social anxiety and how he uses physical touch as a coping mechanism, but some still feel uncomfortable with this.
What is the Pedro Pascal anxiety meme about?
The meme about Pedro Pascal’s social anxiety pokes fun at the actor’s public displays of affection with Vanessa Kirby, accusing him of using his anxiety as a way of luring beautiful women.
Most of the memes claim that Pascal shows very affectionate behavior when he has just a bit of anxiety by pairing it with pictures or scenes of other actors being, let’s say, overly romantic. Some of them are self-deprecating, like one saying on X (formerly Twitter), “Tried Pedro Pascal anxiety gimmick with a co-worker and got reported to HR.” Others are far more accusatory, suggesting that the actor is a bit too handsy with his PDA. This mimics the reactions to Pascal and Kirby holding each other on the red carpet (well, a blue carpet really) at a Fantastic Four premiere press event, with some agreeing that they make a beautiful couple while others argue that their touching is inappropriate.
A part of the perceived discomfort comes from the fact that Vanessa Kirby is engaged to Paul Rabil, a former pro lacrosse player, and has been pregnant with their child for months during the press tour. Kirby has also been seen in interviews caressing Pascal in interviews, rubbing his neck and hugging him, so their public affection goes both ways. As such, some of these memes come from the point of view of a man engaged to a woman who is being openly intimate with another man, skirting the boundary between an on-screen romance with one in real life. This has led to people searching to see whether Pascal and Kirby are actually dating or in a relationship, which many imagine would rub Kirby’s soon-to-be husband the wrong way.
Another reason for the memes could stem from the perception that the Chilean actor has been in many high-profile roles lately, whether that’s in The Last of Us, The Materialists, Gladiator II, Eddington, The Mandalorian, and many other movies and TV shows within just the last three years.
That said, it’s not surprising that Pascal uses physical touch to soothe his social anxiety as he has been vocal about this in the past. While on the red carpet with co-star Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us, he explained why he frequently poses with his hand on his stomach, telling her that his anxiety literally manifests itself there. Ramsey then mimicked his pose in solidarity.
As for the accusation that he only embraces women due to his anxiety, there are plenty of photos of him holding actor Oscar Isaac whom he shared the screen with in the 2019 movie Triple Frontier.
Kirby has previously explained that both she and Pascal can get anxious on stage as a reason for why she grabbed his hand at a San Diego Comic-Con panel in 2024. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she said, “What happened is we were both incredibly nervous going out in front of thousands of people who love this comic. He wanted me to know that we were in this together, and I found it a lovely gesture and was very glad to squeeze his hand back.”
Pascal agreed with the sentiment in a discussion with the cast on Jake’s Takes, revealing that “it’s scary to go in front of cameras… so we are always grabbing on to one another to remind each other that we’re not alone in any of it.”
