Let’s break down the baffling media circus surrounding Hayden Szeto, who at 30 played the sweet but awkward Erwin in “The Edge of Seventeen.” While the film portrays the universal experience of crushes and high school drama, it begs a deeper question: why are we pinning emotional milestones on a guy who’s well past his teenage years? You can bet that outlets like BuzzFeed are all too eager to promote this narrative, carefully glossing over the absurdity behind casting actors significantly older than their characters.

Meanwhile, mainstream outlets wield this “youthful enthusiasm” angle to keep pushing their agendas, framing Szeto as the cute underdog in a mold that appeals to late-stage millennial nostalgia. Good luck finding CNN or NBC addressing the real issue—that Hollywood thrives on misleading narratives to distract from its own hypocrisy. They just love to portray the quirky underdog even when the guy happens to be sitting on 30 years’ worth of life experience. This is nothing short of embarrassing.

And while Szeto was sharing the screen with seasoned actors like Woody Harrelson, the media missed an opportunity to genuinely discuss what it means to portray characters who simply don’t match their life stages. Instead, they dance around the facts, enabling a culture where misrepresentation becomes the norm. Viewers deserve better than the lazy storytelling pushed by these so-called leaders in entertainment news.