Paul Mescal TikTok Dating Rumors: ‘Categorically Not True,’ Says Actor

At the end of last year, TikTok, as often happens, became saturated with wild celebrity speculation. This time the gossip was about Paul Mescal and the accusations that our man here was walking around London looking for dates, went for a walk with his date the next day and ran away from her.

It was the kind of bizarre rumor that would discourage even an inexperienced PR person from acknowledging it. And Mescal seemed to be doing just that until, perhaps inevitably, he addressed the ridiculousness in a new article GQ cover story.

The Gladiator II star reportedly let out a laugh and an “Ohhhhhhh… Damn hell!when the subject came up. He then recalled seeing the videos for the first time when he was home with his siblings over the holidays: “We were watching the videos and we were pissing ourselves. Categorically false. And we laughed, laughed, laughed, laughed.”

But the absurdity had its limits. Mescal said the only thing that “upset” him was when his mother saw the videos and became upset herself. “Isn’t that devastating?” said Mescal. “I thought, oh, it’s funny for us – my brother, me, my sister – because we know this is the way the internet works. It’s hilarious. If it were true it would be damn bad, but as a rumor it’s funny. Then I thought, Oh, when you’re a mother, her impulse is to come out and say, ‘He wouldn’t do this.’ ”

Although Mescal was still, understandably, a little flustered by the experience, and nervous about saying the wrong thing, he still kept a sense of humor about it. After spotting a book called, London’s Hidden Walkshe apparently joked, “I should take these for my runaway dates.”

Still, this should serve as an important reminder to anyone spreading unverified celebrity gossip or tall tales on TikTok: don’t do it; you might make someone’s mother sad.