Actor Pedro Pascal is facing backlash online because of videos showing him being handsy with his Fantastic Four co-star Vanessa Kirby. The rationale? Some are saying that Pedro Pascal has anxiety and that touching her (and other women) calms him down.

Many internet users are not buying it, or at least, the optics of touching a beautiful, taken woman to reduce stress is a bit funny because of its absurdity. Thus, a slew of memes about Pascal's anxiety have surfaced on social media sites like Twitter / X lately.

So, what's with the "Pedro Pascal Anxiety" memes? Where did they come from, and does the actor really need to touch people to cope with his racing thoughts? Let's explain.

Where Did The 'Pedro Pascal Anxiety' Memes Come From?

Last summer, a clip of Pedro Pascal holding hands with Fantastic Four co-star Vanessa Kirby at San Diego Comic Con went viral on Instagram.

The account that posted the clip added a caption to it, reading, "Pedro Pascal suffers from anxiety, and when he is anxious, he usually tries to have contact with someone."

The video and its explanatory caption were copied and pasted across the web in the following days. It landed on X about a week later in a viral tweet from the account @crazyclips_.

Pedro Pascal suffers from anxiety and when nervous needs to touch someone to calm down pic.twitter.com/xbmSgCgCFW

— Crazy Clips (@crazyclips_) August 16, 2024

Pascal's fans felt sympathy for the actor in the comment sections across social media. However, there was another reaction among internet users, too, who believed that Pascal's touchiness was an issue.

"I'm sorry but this is BS. You’re a full-grown man, not a toddler, control yourself," said one X user in a viral quote-tweet of the clip.

"If this nerd 'suffered from anxiety' around my wife, he'd be tasting cold steel," said another X user in a viral post.

Does Pedro Pascal Have Anxiety And Need To Touch People To Calm Down?

In a recent interview with Men's Health, Pedro Pascal talked about his struggles with anxiety. However, the article didn't mention the handsy coping mechanism seen in the viral clips with Vanessa Kirby.

Some fans have pointed to a 2023 clip of Pascal and The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey. In the red carpet clip, Pascal is seen holding Ramsey with one hand and his chest with the other.

Fans listened closely to the audio and heard Pascal explain why he was holding that specific spot on his abdomen. He said, "You know why? Because my anxiety is right here."

With all this being said, the claim that Pascal needs to hold people to calm his nerves is speculative. The idea seemingly stems from a series of guesses trying to explain why he gets so up close and personal with his co-stars, regardless of gender and age.

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal at #TheLastOfUs FYC event Deadline FYC House + @hbomax pic.twitter.com/fqv7n5eIf6

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) April 29, 2023

How Are People Reacting To The 'Pedro Pascal Anxiety' Memes?

The idea that Pedro Pascal gets handsy when he has social anxiety popped off again this week when a compilation of clips, showing the Chilean actor and Vanessa Kirby close-talking, went viral on X.

"Look, I'm married and my wife does this stuff with all of her friends and coworkers! It’s harmless," was the start of one humorous top comment in the replies. "Sometimes she even spends the night but what's a marriage without trust?!" they continued.

Pedro Pascal and married co-star Vanessa Kirby on their Fantastic Four press tour 👀 pic.twitter.com/o9rP37TOAH

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) July 23, 2025

A large portion of internet users, after seeing the new video, have jumped to the conclusion that Pascal and Kirby are secretly seeing each other, even though Kirby has a fiancé.

Memes quickly sprouted on X yesterday, all playing with the concept that Pascal is using his social anxiety as an excuse to sleep with girlfriends and wives.

"Pedro Pascal and his female co-worker because of his 'social anxiety,'" was the caption for one viral post, which attached the romantic montage of Natalie Portman and Christian Bale frolicking on a beach.

Pedro Pascal and his female co-worker because of his "social anxiety" https://t.co/oXMDOKv5MV

— Bibawen (@asimbawe) July 23, 2025

With all the backlash, however, people are still coming out and defending Pascal's actions. For some, the clips only proved that Kirby, and Pascal's other co-stars, feel comfortable around him, which helps the perception of Pascal's character off-screen.

"Okay, yeah, let’s invalidate men’s mental health because you can’t process the idea of women feeling safe around a man," said one viral post on the matter.

People want Pedro Pascal to be a predator rlly bad and is disgusting, like is just without any actual reason, just cuz they want to believe it https://t.co/AIpWaDTTd6

— COMMS OPEN🔻Karl0🔻 (@_Karl0_) July 23, 2025

What Are Some More 'Pedro Pascal Anxiety' Memes?

pic.twitter.com/dZmR9zqznw

— lilrose (@aronrose_jr) July 23, 2025

me wondering why Pedro Pascal never has “anxiety” around his male co-workers pic.twitter.com/dfPsqBBGtp

— duck (@ExtremeBlitz__) July 23, 2025

---

For the full history of Pedro Pascal's Anxiety, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.