Stranger Things may be an otherworldly horror show, but Caleb McLaughlin has to deal with horrors that are entirely of this world. At Netflix’s global fan event Tudum, McLaughlin, who plays Lucas on the show, spoke out about the racism he has received from the show’s fandom, as seen in a video posted to Twitter. “It affected me when I was a kid,†McLaughlin reflected. “At my first Comic-Con, some people wouldn’t stand in my line because I was Black. Some people told me that, ‘Oh, I didn’t love you because you were mean to Eleven.’†As the sole Black main cast member when Stranger Things premiered, McLaughlin says he felt the racism acutely even when he didn’t know what it was. “When I was younger, it definitely affected me a lot,†McLaughlin continued. “You’re like, Why do I have the least amount of followers? I’m on the same show as everybody from season one. But then my parents had to be like, ‘It’s a sad truth, but it’s because you’re the Black child on the show.’†Even today, McLaughlin has around 10 million fewer Instagram followers than his white cast mates such as Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, and Sadie Sink. “With my platform, I wanna spread positivity and love,†McLaughlin finished. “I do not give hate back to people who gave hate to me.â€