This post contains spoilers for Stranger Things. Consider yourself warned.
If you spent the Fourth of July weekend watching the latest season of Stranger Things on Netflix, you’re definitely not alone—in fact, over 40 million accounts tuned in.
But actor Evan Rachel Wood is one viewer who was less than thrilled with the third installment. More specifically, she felt the behavior of Jim Hopper (played by David Harbour) was “unacceptable” and took to Twitter to express her thoughts, igniting a heated conversation online. “You should never date a guy like the cop from #strangerthings,” she tweeted. “Extreme jealousy and violent rages are not flattering or sexy like TV would have you believe. That is all.”
She followed up in a thread, writing, “Yes I am aware its ‘just a show’ and its set ‘in the 80s’ even though this stuff was unacceptable then too, but thats exactly my point. It’s just a show and this is a gentle reminder not to fall for this crap in real life. Red flags galore.”
Many agreed with her. “YES, THANK YOU!!!! I was thinking this from the moment he manipulated Mike into breaking up with El. The man is chock-full of red flags,” one person tweeted. “Yeah, I’ve liked Hop generally, but this season the way he’s furious that his daughter is dating, & jealous of a guy who Joyce spoke to (despite emphasizing to her that it wasn’t a date) wasn’t a good look. He had a right to be upset at being stood up, but the Scott thing was ?,” another wrote.
But others didn’t agree with her criticism, citing both the time period the show takes place in and the fact that Hopper is a fictional character. “It was the 80’s. That’s how it was. I survived it and so should you,” one Twitter user wrote. Another added, “So now we should avoid writing flawed human beings into TV shows and film? Toxic masculinity was an unfortunate trait from the 80s, and probably the show is doing an accurate depiction of it through Hopper! Do I root for it? No.”
The conversations surrounding her initial tweet were so heated, Wood took to Twitter to address them again. “Cue all the abusive people attacking me on twitter for posting a warning not to fall for abusive behavior like a popular tv character exhibited on a popular show because it reminds them of themselves and they feel personally attacked?” she wrote. “Bring it on guys.”
“This isnt to say everyone who disagrees is an abuser,” she adds. “But it is very telling to see who agrees with the behavior.”
