Now aged 20, the actor was 14 when he and his cast mates became famous, with the Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi show quickly becoming one of the streaming giant’s most-watched original projects.

However, while the show enjoyed immense popularity, McLaughlin felt that, as the show’s sole Black main cast member, fans were openly shunning him.

“It definitely took a toll on me as a younger kid,” he said during an appearance at the Heroes Comic Con Belgium convention over the weekend.

McLaughlin recounted how some people waiting for autographs at a comic book convention refused to stand in his line and saying that it was because of how his character, Lucas Sinclair, treated Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven in Season 1.

“My very first Comic-Con, some people didn’t stand in my line because I was Black,” he recalled. “Some people told me, ‘Oh I didn’t want to be in your line because you were mean to Eleven.’”

He went on to explain that it still sometimes happen today. “Even now, like some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m Black,” he said.

“Sometimes overseas, you’ll feel the racism, you feel the bigotry. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about and for people to understand, but when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot,” McLaughlin added.

In the earlier stages of the show’s success, he also questioned why he appeared to be the least favorite on the show, having a notably lower social media follower count than his co-stars.

The Harlem School of the Arts alum recalled thinking at the time: “I’m on the same show as everybody from Season 1.”

Amid the doubts and questions, McLaughlin’s parents sat him down to tell a “sad truth” about the way in which he was likely viewed.

“My parents had to be like, ‘It’s a sad truth, but it’s because you’re the Black child on the show.’ I went, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’ Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin, I’m not loved.”

NAACP Image Award winner McLaughlin has refused to “give hate back” to the people who have shown him negativity.

“That’s why, with my platform, I want to spread positivity and love because I do not give hate back to people who give hate to me,” he said.