Jerry O'Connell apologized to his "Stand By Me" co-star Wil Wheaton on Thursday's episode of "The Talk" for being unaware that he suffered from child abuse while making the classic 1986 coming-of-age classic. were victims. Wheaton told Yahoo Entertainment in May 2021 that his parents "forced" him to become a child actor, saying he received "a combination of unbelievable emotional abuse from my father and from my mother, using a lot of me." manipulation". The actor showed the pain of his parents for his performance in "Stand by Me".
"When I watch 'Stand by Me,' I can't ignore the incredible sadness in my eyes," Wheaton said at the time. "And I can't ignore the reality that it was that sadness, that isolation, that I think gave me what Gordy needed to come to life."
O'Connell is the co-host of "The Talk" and used Wheaton's appearance on The Talk to offer the following apology: "I talked about some of the struggles you were having during 'Stand By Me'. And you know, when I was 11 at the time, that's an excuse, I apologize for not being more to you when you were younger."
"But I want to say, for the bigger picture, you never know what someone is going through when you're with them," O'Connell said. "I don't feel guilty, but I just want to say, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you any more."
"You were 11," Wheaton replied. "How could you know? Plus, everyone in the audience who is a trauma survivor knows this: We're real, real, real good at what we're doing."
"Stand by Me" is a 1959-set drama starring O'Connell, Wheaton, River Phoenix, and Corey Feldman as four friends who search for the dead body of a missing boy while on their way out. Directed by Rob Reiner and based on the novel by Stephen King, the film earned an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay and grossed $52 million worldwide.