Cuba Gooding Jr. Sparks Outrage After Lifting Sarah Paulson’s Dress at PaleyFest Panel

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Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. came under fire on social media Sunday night and Monday morning after he appeared to lift up his American Horror Story co-star Sarah Paulson’s dress during a PaleyFest panel Sunday.

In photos and video that spread online over the weekend, Paulson and her castmates are seen laughing and applauding while welcoming co-star Kathy Bates to the stage, before Gooding Jr. appeared to lift up Paulson’s dress.

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Social media users quickly excoriated the Oscar-winning actor, calling the dress stunt sexist and disrespectful.

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One Twitter user appeared to blame the political climate in the United States for the actor’s dress stunt.

In the photo, Paulson appears to be laughing while Gooding Jr. looks like he’s lifting up her dress. The event took place on Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

Also in attendance at the panel were Kathy Bates, Denis O’Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, Adina Porter and more, who spoke about the upcoming season of the show.

During the panel, Paulson was asked which of her AHS characters she’d like to see come back.

“Probably [Coven‘s] Cordelia. We only got to see her just getting her powers. I just would like to know… if the power might have been something that kind of changed her,” she said.

American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy was not present for the panel. The FX show’s stars, which included Denis O’Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, and Adina Porter, discussed past seasons but didn’t offer clues or tidbits for the forthcoming season 7 premiere. The upcoming season is expected to revolve around the 2016 presidential election.

Paulson told the Hollywood Reporter on Saturday that she would like to play Donald Trump on the upcoming season of the show, though Murphy has previously said neither Trump nor Clinton would appear as characters.

“Why not? That’s an acting challenge to be sure,” she said.

 

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson

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