Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute in the hit TV series The Office, is facing a wave of criticism after a recent interaction with TikToker Liah Yoo went viral on social media.
It’s no secret that Dwight often speaks his mind without a filter, is confrontational, and frequently misses social cues and norms. Unfortunately, Wilson himself isn’t too far removed from this persona, as evidenced by his latest faux pas. During the brief but disastrous meet-and-greet, Wilson’s behavior towards Yoo was…well, nothing short of appalling.
He was rude, dismissive, and left her feeling like she’d been slapped in the face. As the footage of this train wreck spread across social media, it became glaringly obvious that this was not just a one-off incident.
Wilson’s interview with Billie Eilish, a die-hard fan of The Office, in 2020 provides further evidence of a troubling pattern of problematic behavior, especially when it comes to his interactions with “women.” Despite having binged the series an astonishing 15 times, Eilish fumbled with some of the questions. Instead of offering words of encouragement or support, Wilson unleashed a verbal smackdown, telling her to “move on” and find a new show to obsess over. He also allegedly said he was meeting a “young man named Billy” and called the famous singer “William Eyelash.” Considering Eilish’s public struggles with body dysmorphia, Wilson’s choice to masculinize her name was not only inappropriate but also deeply insensitive.
A TikTok user, @hopeyoufindyourdad, has been pivotal in bringing to light other instances of Wilson’s potentially misogynistic behavior. In one particularly cringeworthy instance, Wilson had YouTuber Trisha Paytas on his podcast, Soul Boom, to discuss the heavy topics of mental health and the internet’s impact. However, many of the actor’s responses were seen as insensitive and shaming, with the TikToker noting that he came across as pompous and desperate to prove himself.
This desperation to assert his worth seems to stem from Wilson’s insecurity about being primarily known for his role in The Office. As reported by Variety, Wilson has expressed dissatisfaction with being tied to the character of Dwight, which may explain (but certainly doesn’t justify) his insecure outburst toward other people.
@hopeyoufindyourdad highlights another interview with Bobby Althoff, a 27-year-old woman podcaster. In this interaction, Wilson was outright rude, insulting Althoff by saying, “no one watches your podcast beside little girls online.” The 58-year-old star basically implies that she was a nobody compared to him as he engaged in a form of one-upmanship, asking Althoff to prove her connections in the industry, which can be seen as demeaning and unnecessarily competitive.
TikTok users in the comments pointed out how Wilson’s insecurity was also on display in an interview with Bryan Cranston when he positioned himself on equal footing with the Breaking Bad protagonist. The TikTok users also noted how Wilson complained about how fans constantly pester him by bringing up his role as Dwight, assuming Cranston would commiserate about his iconic role as Walter White. However, Cranston’s response was a refreshing contrast to Wilson’s, as he expressed nothing but love and gratitude for the recognition.
“I love his interview with Bryan Cranston because he brings up fans annoying him constantly bringing up Dwight and assumes Bryan would agree with his role as Walter and Brian was like ‘nah I love it’,” one wrote. Another user astutely noted how Cranston loves it when people recognize him as Malcolm’s dad from the sitcom series, Malcolm in the Middle – which Wilson seems incapable of reciprocating towards his own character.
Others reveled in the delicious moment when Cranston put Wilson in his place, deliberately calling him “Stephen.” One replied, “i loved this too. also how Bryan calls rainn by the wrong name and pisses rainn off,” while another called it one of their favorite “get over it” moment.
While Wilson’s insecurity with his career may shed some light on his behavior, it does not give him a free pass to mock women. The TikToker @hopeyoufindyourdad points out that Wilson was noticeably more pleasant to male comedian Pete Holmes in an interview compared to his interactions with female guests.
However, even in that interview, viewers couldn’t shake the feeling that Wilson spent most of the time tooting his own horn and bragging about his supposed greatness. So, what does all of this say about Rainn Wilson? While these resurfaced videos won’t really shake the actor’s place in the industry, it does tarnish his reputation and given the fact that he is not a big fan of being associated too much with his forever role of Dwight, he might want to do some damage control and soon.