PLL's Lucy Hale Addresses Her Character's "Problematic" Relationship
After Pretty Little Liars' Lucy Hale and Ian Harding recreated a scene from the show, the actress explained she was not glamorizing their characters Ezra and Aria's controversial relationship.
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Lucy Hale isn't keeping her opinion of her Pretty Little Liars love story a secret.
After a video of the PLL actress and costar Ian Harding recreating an infamous kiss from the teen drama sparked negative comments, she clarified that the relationship between their characters Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz is not the one she was celebrating.
"I'm obviously seeing a lot of the comments, and I just want to say that two realities can be very true," Hale explained on Instagram Stories after posting the video Oct. 25, according to Us Weekly. "It’s very obvious that Aria and Ezra is problematic, and it did not age well."
Indeed, the teen drama's storyline about a high school student (played by Hale) falling in love with her 22-year-old teacher (played by Harding) has drawn criticism for romanticizing a dynamic reflecting the real-world understanding of predatory grooming after going off the air in 2017.
"Ian and I were teenagers when we were doing that show," the 37-year-old continued. "We were quick friends, and we have known each other almost 20 years."
In other words, the Hating Game star reunited with Harding on social media in advance of their new film, 12 Dates of Christmas, to commemorate the beginning of their real-life connection, instead of the torrid fictional romance.
As she put it, "The video was actually more about Ian and I’s friendship, not glamorizing anything."
Hale previously addressed her take on why Aria and Fitz—who get married by the series' finale—story needed to be included.
"My character dated her teacher, and that's been a little controversial, especially lately," she remarked during a Sept. 21 episode of On Purpose With Jay Shetty. "But like, this came out in 2010, so of course she would date her teacher. That's what happened in the book, so it should happen in the show."
Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images
As such, Hale concluded that's a plotline she'd prioritize addressing if the original cast—including Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell and Troian Bellisario—returned for a follow-up series.
"People loved that relationship because it was forbidden romance," she noted, adding, "but it's just interesting how much we've evolved as humans that I feel like that would be the first thing we'd have to address on the show."
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