Over the weekend, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse star Hailee Steinfeld announced her engagement to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Not long after that, Miles Morales actor Shameik Moore posted what many believed must be a response to the news.
Taking to X, he shared, "There’s still more people to meet. More opportunities to come. And more chances to try. Live, learn, apply."
His comments went viral and in a since-deleted post, Moore later added, "Had no idea Hailee is engaged! That's amazing, I'm here reflecting on my 2024 goals that are rolling over into 2025. Gods timing." No one was buying it, prompting the actor to later say, "yall been twisting my words and f*ckin wit my name for years now."
The internet being the internet, a fan soon compiled a video of Moore and Steinfeld on the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse press tour, with the former seemingly making his co-star uncomfortable by expressing his interest in the Spider-Gwen actor.
Screen Rant caught up with Moore at FAN EXPO San Francisco 2024 this weekend and asked for his take on everything that's been said about him online over Thanksgiving weekend.
"A lot of times we don’t get to do it with cast mates, right? Because I might be in New York, Jake [Johnson] might be in Chicago… and we do the voice work from wherever we are."
"The second movie Hailee and I worked more. And during interviews, I would speak about how much - I’m reading with Kemp Powers. I’m reading with Chris [Miller] or Phil Lord. So I’m always talking to older men every time either in person or whatever the lines are. [Laughs] And so, I spoke about how fun it was or how much easier it was working with my co-star. And then these video clips got put together."
"It’s been a tough weekend, my brother. The internet’s been killing me, I’m sorry."
It's hard to escape the feeling that people on social media once again ran wild by misinterpreting interactions they know little about. The way Moore has been portrayed as some sort of creep feels a step too far, regardless, particularly when he never mentioned Steinfeld outside of the post he deleted (after it received a fresh round of backlash from X users).
Regardless of what you make of the entire situation, it's become a big talking point and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse's press tour should be well worth keeping an eye on.