Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby’s Fantastic Four press Tour sparks chemistry-or-cringe debate

Dubai: Watching Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby on their Fantastic Four publicity run has thrown me back to a moment from years ago at the now-defunct Abu Dhabi Film Festival. I was interviewing the late Indian actor Irrfan Khan as he promoted his stirring film 'The Song Of Scorpions'.

Mid-conversation, he looked at my arm, stroked it lightly, and called my skin “dark chocolate.” It was the pre-#MeToo era, and I wasn’t offended then – I even laughed. But a small part of me, looking back, wonders: was it really appropriate?

Fast forward to today, and I’m watching Pedro and Vanessa. Their camaraderie – the hand-holding, the face-stroking, even his hand on her pregnant belly – is being passed off as innocent bonhomie. And maybe it is. They say it’s about soothing nerves. But there’s something about the sheer intensity of their PDA that makes you pause.

Pedro is, without question, the man of the moment – everyone’s favourite internet daddy. And while he insists that all this physical closeness calms his anxiety, fans aren’t buying it. The longer these clips circulate, the more people wonder if his very public brand of touchy-feely has tipped from charming to uncomfortable.

And they’re not the only ones. Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson recently locked lips during a press event despite being in other relationships, and the internet went into collective meltdown.

Which brings me to the question: when does touchy-feely cross the line into too much? What’s just affectionate showbiz shorthand for “we’re close,” and what starts to feel like heavy petting in front of a live audience?

I’m all for warmth – a hug, an arm over the shoulder, even a squeeze of the hand when cameras aren’t dissecting every move. But in the era of hyperscrutiny, power dynamics, and constantly blurred boundaries, maybe it’s time we stop romanticising all forms of physical closeness on press tours as “cute” or “harmless.”

Pedro and Vanessa might just be two co-stars finding comfort in each other, but to a viewer, especially in 2025, it can look like something else entirely.

And that “something else” is why we need to talk about how much PDA is too much – especially when it’s on the company dime, in front of rolling cameras, and with the world watching.