Charlie Heaton would like to clear a few things up about those reported drug charges from last year. Heaton, better known as Jonathan Byers on Stranger Things, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport in October after trace amounts of cocaine were allegedly found in his luggage. In a new interview with Flaunt Magazine, Heaton says that the incident was “fucking awful,” not just for him, but for his family.
Heaton has always maintained that he wasn’t arrested or charged with any crime. But he hadn’t talked about how the detainment, which caused him to miss the Stranger Things season 2 premiere, affected him until now. “It was hard,” he said. “Everything happened so fast, and I hadn’t come to terms with the fact that I was famous.” He said it made him “feel kind of vulnerable” to have his private life in the tabloids. “All of a sudden it becomes a very big story,” he said, “and it gets really blown out of proportion.” It was such a big story that the media ended up at Heaton’s parent’s house in Yorkshire, England, which was “upsetting” for them.
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After the airport incident, Heaton apologized to Stranger Things fans saying, “We are all so proud of this season, and I would never want this story to negatively impact the show." He worried the bad press would affect his career. What’s more, he was afraid that even if he still had a job, he wouldn’t be able to get there. After being detained, Heaton released a statement, explaining that due to “an issue at U.S. immigration,” he was unable to travel to the States. “At the end of the day I just wanted to go back,” he said. “I want to work and continue to work — that’s all I’ve ever done.”
Fortunately, Heaton will return to the U.S. to start filming Stranger Things season 3 next month. While Heaton didn’t go into the details about how he fixed his immigration problem, he told Flaunt, “Yeah, it’s all sorted now. We go back [to filming] in April so I plan to go back to America next month, and yes, I can go back.”
That’s a good thing for fans, since Heaton promises next season will explore the love triangle between him, Steve (Joe Keery), and Nancy, played by Natalia Dyer. Heaton and Dyer have been dating both on and off the show, which might mean you're rooting for them. But with season 3 premiering in 2019, you'll have some time to decide whether you’re really Team Jonathan or Team Steve.
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