Paul Mescal has said it is "categorically untrue" that he runs away from women after a one-night stand.
A viral rumour has spread that the 28-year-old Normal People star takes women to a local park after he spends a night with them only to seat them on a bench and then run away.
Addressing the rumours with GQ, Mescal admitted he learned of the speculation while watching social media clips about it with his family.
He said, "We were looking at the videos and we were p**sing ourselves at it."
Flatly denying the rumours, the star said, "Categorically untrue. And we were laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing. And the one thing that upset me was that I was in the kitchen, I remember my mum looking at the videos and she was getting upset. Isn't that devastating?"
He continued, "It's funny to us - my brother, me, my sister - because we know that this is the way the internet works. It's hilarious. If it was true, it'd be f**king bad, but as a rumour, it's funny... If you're a mother, her impulse is to come out and be like, 'He wouldn't do this.'"
The Irish actor - who will soon be seen starring in Gladiator II - admitted he struggles with having his private life dissected by fans online.
He said, "I mean, the speculation has been kind of mad for the last x amount of years. I'm not comfortable inviting any access into that part of my life. How I am in my private life is so precious to me because I get very little of it, and it might be public interest, but it's not public-obligated information."
