Eddie Deezen — who played nerdy Rydell High student Eugene Felsnic on the iconic 1978 film Grease — revealed that he asked a 16-year-old girl on a date. After receiving backlash, the actor likened the criticism to homophobia and accused those raising concerns of “pearl-clutching.”
“Ok, I was very nervous, but I made myself go over and talk to her. I clenched my fists and walked over to her table. This just happened,” Deezen wrote in a since-deleted social media post, according to a report by the Mirror.
The 69-year-old went on to walk his fans through the story of how he asked an “absolutely gorgeous” minor out at a Starbucks, noting that the quotes included from the interaction were “verbatim.”
“Hi. Can I sit down?” Deezen recalled asking the girl after approaching her table, to which the teenager allegedly replied, “Sure” with a big smile.
The actor — who does not have children but was previously married — mentioned that he was “happy she was so friendly and nice.”
“My name is Eddie. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve seen in a long time. I’m in the movie Grease. I wondered if I could take you out sometime. If you have a boyfriend, I understand,” he claimed to have told the girl.
The 16-year-old allegedly responded, “I can’t, I’m underage,” to which Deezen replied, “What? What do you mean?”
The minor then repeated herself and revealed that she was only 16, according to Deezen.
“Oh. I see. Ok. Well, think of me when you watch Grease,” the actor told the girl — who was 53 years younger than him.
Deezen — who was previously arrested for a nursing home burglary, and second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, and trespassing after refusing to leave a restaurant and throwing items/food at police — then claimed that the teen shook his hand before leaving Starbucks.
“I saw her and yes, I was attracted to her. I thought she was a college girl, maybe about 23,” the actor wrote, adding that “being handsome or a ladies’ man or being confident with beautiful girls” are not things he has been “blessed” with.
“I just wrote spontaneously what was going on. I know this may seem odd or unusual to some, but these people obviously do not know me, I am a very open poster on Facebook,” Deezen reportedly continued.
The 69-year-old actor went on to claim he found it “Interesting” that people were “offended” by his story, before comparing the backlash he received to homophobia.
“I was a guy attracted to a girl, I had no idea of her age, and I asked her out,” Deezen told his followers. “I know this makes certain kinds of people clutch their pearls and get their bowels in an uproar. What if it was a man, a grown man, I asked out?”
“In certain places I would be killed for this, in other places, In other minds, I would be looked upon as sick or almost not human,” he continued. “Same as if I were an adult woman and I thought another woman was hot and did the same.”
“And others would see this and hear this and hate them for homophobia,” Deezen added. “And what of men who want to be women and vice-versa? More pearl-clutching. Aren’t we selectively offended.”
The actor later issued a follow-up post, informing his fans that he had blocked three social media users for writing “very cruel comments” inr reaction to what he described as an “honest mistake.”
“Look, I get it,” Deezen wrote. “There are many sad and lonely people out there, and many lonely people who crave attention. Believe it or not, I have great, great compassion for them. But not to the point where they can insult me and call me names.”
“One or two I blocked, then I looked at their Facebook page-each had exactly one friend,” he went on. “So these poor, pathetic people actually got blocked, and got a new page, just so they could insult me — I honestly pity them, they are in a dark place.”
Deezen also reportedly refused to follow the advice of some fans who suggested he take down his post, claiming that doing so would “let evil and hate win.”
Eventually, the actor ended up deleting his story about his alleged interaction with the minor.
Social media users slammed Deezen online, with one reportedly writing, “Ok just this once I’m fairly confident I can speak for LGBT+ people everywhere when I say ‘leave us the hell out of it you giant weirdo?!?’”
“Exactly,” another echoed. “Like are you comparing an elderly man being attracted to a child to being queer? Like no thank you! You’re not some oppressed minority.”
“Like being a predator (even if he thought she was 23, he is still 70) is equivalent to being queer,” a third reacted. “So sick of these guys trying to say they’re a part of our community. Not only are you not under our umbrella, you are in the rain on the opposite side of town.”
As Breitbart news previously reported, Deezen was arrested in 2022 for the second time in seven months after forcing his way into a nursing home and refusing to leave.
Alana Mastrangelo-Wrask is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.