‘The Walking Dead's’ Josh McDermitt talks about quitting social media, new movie

Last month Josh Mcdermitt, the actor who plays Eugene Porter on “The Walking Dead,” quit social media after receiving death threats from “fans” who were not happy with his character aligning with the villain Negan. He recently spoke about that along with his new role in the Indie film “Middle Man.”

Josh McDermitt is still off the internet

McDermitt has been completely off the internet since deleting his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts in disgust (and maybe a little fear) over the death threats from what were basically internet trolls. In an interview with Solzy at the Movies about his Indie movie, “Middle Man,” he was asked about his decision to quit social media.

McDermitt instantly spoke out against the trolls who had threatened his life online, saying that nothing is being done to combat all this online hate.

The internet is a ‘dark and negative place’

He told the interviewer that he didn’t really want to get into it that much, but said the internet is a “dark and negative place” which breeds that kind of mentality and those types of thoughts. McDermitt continued by saying people like that are left unchecked, not facing any consequences for what they say on the internet, which he says is unfortunate. However, he added that “it is what it is.”

The hateful trolling began after Josh defected from Alexandria, joining Negan’s Saviors.

But as McDermitt says, Josh is a fictional character, he is not real. At the time he told followers on Twitter to stop sending him death threats because he would report them to the police, adding that he is sick of it. McDermitt told them they can hate Eugene all they like, he doesn’t care. He said they can think what they like, but when they start telling him they hope he will die, it’s too much, as he doesn’t know if they mean Josh or Eugene.

Another ‘The Walking Dead’ star trolled on social media

As reported by Digital Spy, McDermitt isn’t alone when it comes to taking a break from social media, as Alanna Masterson has also deleted her Instagram account after fans “body shamed’ her about her weight. Masterson plays Tara Chambler in “The Walking Dead.” She went on to delete her Instagram account, but has so far retained her Twitter account.

Josh McDermitt and ‘Middle Man’

McDermitt spoke about his role as T-Bird in the Indie movie “Middle Man,” saying it is completely different from anything he has played before, which is something that also attracted him to the role of Eugene on “The Walking Dead.” He said actor Andrew J. West, who he has played alongside on “The Walking Dead,” plays Hitch in the Indie movie and that West told the director he should look at McDermitt for the T-Bird role. His character in “Middle Man” is a stand-up comic, and McDermitt has a background in comedy, so he enjoyed making the film.

The movie is about a character called Lenny Freeman (Jim O'Heir), an accountant who has always wanted to be a stand-up comedian.

However, it turns out he isn’t really funny. According to IMDb, the character's mother then dies, leaving him with debt and an old car, so he drives off to Vegas to audition for Monte Guy’s annual “Stand-Up Stand-Off.” However, along the way he makes the mistake of picking up a stranger named “Hitch” (played by West) and things gradually go from bad to worse, leading to a murder. McDermitt plays T-Bird, another stand-up comedian he meets along the way.

“Middle Man” is reportedly only playing in a few cities before it is made available on demand in September and will be streamed on Netflix in October.

While Josh doesn't appear in it much, the trailer for the movie is included here.