Pedro Pascal baffles fans as he stops Joaquin Phoenix from waving at crowd on Cannes red carpet

CANNES, FRANCE: In a confusing turn of events at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Pedro Pascal left fans puzzled as he stopped co-star Joaquin Phoenix from waving at the crowd on the red carpet.

The baffling interaction took place on Friday, May 16, when the ‘Last of Us’ actor joined his co-stars Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler for the premiere of their latest film ‘Eddington’ at the film festival.

Set in a pandemic-stricken America struggling with conspiracy theories, TikTok trends, and escalating political tensions, Ari Aster's 'Eddington' debuted at the Cannes Film Festival to a mixed reception despite being one of the most anticipated films of this year's festival.

Pedro Pascal stops Joaquin Phoenix from waving at fans

At the bustling red carpet, the ‘Eddington’ cast posed for the photographer and shared a slew of light-hearted interactions.

However, the one interaction that caught fans off guard happened between Pascal and Phoenix. In a now-viral video from the top of the Palais steps of the Auditorium Louis Lumiere, the cast was seen turning around to wave at their fans.

However, as the ‘Joker’ star raised his hand to greet the crowd, Pascal gently pulled it down and whispered something in his ear.

Even though Phoenix's face changed to one of surprise and confusion, he only nodded "okay" and slipped his hand into his pocket.

Fans speculate why Pedro Pascal stopped Joaquin Phoenix from waving

Pedro Pascal’s move to stop Joaquin Phoenix from waving at the crowd left fans completely baffled, who came up with a slew of theories, with one speculating, “Pedro told Joaquin no to do a salute that can be wrong interpreted.”

“I think maybe Pedro Pascal was worried that the photos they were taking would be used maliciously to accuse JP of doing something else. I say this because when Sabrina was saying hi to fans, some people used this photo to create controversy, saying she was making the N*zi salute,” another theorized.

“Looks like Pedro says something like that'll look like a salute, man,” another Reddit user commented. “Looks like Joaquin Phoenix is saying ‘oh my god’ at the end as he’s realizing the absurd mess we all live in. I have no point to make, just saying,” one more chipped in.

“Don’t pull an Elon, man. You’re gonna give your PR team a headache,” an individual joked, whereas someone else said, “I think Joaquin muttered 'oh my god' at the end there lol.”

However, there were also some who rejected the theory. “I’m confused? What am I missing? That was a wave, not a salute? Lol,” one said.

“Come on lol, people really can't cave in to this and literally be overthinking how they wave their arms. Pedro is so media trained to be politically correct, it's kind of... cringe,” another user said. “It didn't even look like anything other than a wave...crazy behavior,” one more noted.

Pedro Pascal helps Emma Stone fight off a bee

This was not the only Pedro Pascal moment that caught fans' attention. In another chaotic moment, the 'Gladiator II' actor was seen teaming up with Austin Butler to fight off a bee attacking Emma Stone.

In a viral video, the ‘Poor Things’ star was seen striking a twinkling smile for the cameras before pointing at a bee attacking her, according to Page Six.

At first, Stone used her hand to bat the bee away. Butler, 33, then stepped in to try and help by using his mouth to blow air at the bee.

The tactic failed as the bee whirled wildly about Stone, forcing 50-year-old Pascal to brush the insect away with his hand.

Despite Stone's best efforts to remain composed, she managed to cling to Pascal's shoulders and hide behind him until the bee fled.