Neil Patrick Harris is at the centre of of a social media storm after 'disgusting' comments he made about a then-teenage Nick Jonas resurfaced online.
The How I Met Your Mother actor, now 49, has been slammed on TikTok for describing having a crush on Jonas while he was still in his teens.
He made the revelation when asked about his celebrity crush on The Wendy Williams Show back in 2015, admitting that he knew it wasn't 'allowed' and describing it as 'a bit of a problem'.
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He said: "He was really good-looking before it was kind of allowed to think he was good-looking.
"Which was a bit of a problem, you kind of had to wait ’til he turned to be, y’know… 19, 20, you’re like: 'What is happening?'"
While Jonas himself was 22 at the time the interview was filmed, he had been in the public eye throughout his teens, having shot to fame when was just 12 years old as a part of the Jonas Brothers in 2005.
Neil was 42 when he made the revelation, and he clearly thought twice about even saying it, pausing for a moment as he took part in the 'hot seat' challenge.
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However, he ultimately concluded that would be no harm in admitting to having had a crush on a teenager because his husband David Burtka knew about it.
He said: "David knows it, so I guess it's not a bad thing to say."
The actor then admitted Jonas was his celeb crush, before raising an eyebrow at Williams as he sought the host's approval.
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While Williams proceeded to find the revelation entertaining at the time, the comment did not go down well when it recently resurfaced on TikTok with the hashtag 'disgusting'.
Reacting to the video, one commentator wrote: "Sometimes certain things shouldn't be said out loud."
A second added: "I think everyone has forgotten about all the men waiting for the Olson twins to turn 18, nobody cared about that."
"I love his characters but him as a person... yikes," wrote a third while a fourth remarked: "I've always knew he ain't right."
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However, some people did stick up for the actor and argued he was referring to Jonas when he was of age.
One wrote: "This is weird but considering it's an outlier he was saying until he turned 19/20 I'll give him a pass."
"Nick was 22 here," remarked a second. "Neil actually acknowledged he couldn't have said that while he was underage and he never did anything about it. Not predatory."
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"The Sun newspaper did a countdown when Emma Watson turned 18," remarked a third. "Gay celebs seem to get more stick for this than anyone else."
UNILAD has reached out to Harris' representatives for comment.
Topics: Celebrity
Emma Guinness