Josh Hutcherson Says Taylor Swift Fans Flamed Him After He Admitted He's 'Not a Swiftie': 'That Is Why I Don't Want to Be Online'
Josh Hutcherson Says Taylor Swift Fans Flamed Him After He Admitted He's 'Not a Swiftie': 'That Is Why I Don't Want to Be Online'
Kimberlee SpeakmanTue, April 21, 2026 at 4:58 PM UTC
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Josh Hutcherson; Taylor SwiftCredit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty -
Josh Hutcherson shared in a new interview that a recent incident in which he received backlash from Taylor Swift fans reminded him why he didn't "want to be online"
He also noted that keeping his presence online to a minimum helps audiences "disappear" into his characters
The actor has kept his private life out of the spotlight and off social media since he began acting at the age of 9 in 2002
Josh Hutcherson knows “all too well” how tough fans can be — especially Swifties.
The Five Nights at Freddy’s star, 33, shared in an interview with GQ published on Monday, April 20, that the negativity online that he got from Taylor Swift fans after sharing that he wasn’t a listener of the pop star’s music has affected his decision to stay offline.
During an interview with i-D magazine in December, Hutcherson’s I Love LA costar Jordan Firstman asked him about whether he was a fan of the “Opalite” singer, 36, to which he responded, “Oh no, I’m definitely not a Swiftie.”
“I got some heat because [of that]... All of a sudden, it garnered this, ‘Fuck him! He’s a monster! Destroy him! He’s short! He hates her because he’s short!” Hutcherson recalled comments he saw online from internet trolls. “It’s just like, 'Whoa! I think she’s great. Her music is not my kind of music.' ”
“That is why I don’t want to be online,” he added. “I don’t need that energy.”
Josh Hutcherson attends HBO's "I Love LA" FYC Panel at Pacific Design Center on April 19, 2026Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty
Several fans had called him out online for attending Swift’s Eras Tour in 2024 as a VIP. (He was filmed and photographed by fans receiving some friendship bracelets.) However, the Grammy winner has ties to Hutcherson through The Hunger Games, for which she created the song “Safe and Sound.”
The Studio actor said having any infamy online could potentially affect him — and his career — in other ways too, including taking audiences out of his performance.
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“It’s counterintuitive to my job, because if people know you more, you can’t disappear into characters,” the actor explained.
“They see you as, ‘Oh, that’s Josh.’ You know what I mean?” he continued. “So, if you’re a f------meme, people know you for the meme.”
Hutcherson has kept several aspects of his personal life out of the limelight amid his decades-long film career. However, he has shared glimpses into his personal life from time to time, including how he makes things work with his girlfriend and fellow actress, Claudia Traisac.
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"In my life and relationship, because we're both actors, it's very hot and cold as far as how much time we get together," Hutcherson told PEOPLE in November 2025. "It's a hard thing to find balance in."
Both of their schedules are "always different," but in Hutcherson's eyes, "that's part of the reason why it works."
That unpredictability is also what makes things "exciting, too, in so many ways," he says. "We don't know if we're going to get two weeks [together], then not see each other for months. So it's this very exciting thing."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
