Ben Platt Admits Internet Criticism of Dear Evan Hansen Movie Made It a 'Disappointing Experience'

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Ben Platt is reflecting on the negative reaction to his involvement in 2021's Dear Evan Hansen.

In a new interview published Monday by The New York Times, Platt, 29, said criticisms of the movie — an adaptation of the 2016 Tony-winning Broadway show of the same name, which he also starred in — made him realize "how horrific" the internet can be.

"[The movie] was definitely a disappointing experience, and difficult, and it definitely opened my eyes to the internet and how horrific it can be," Platt told the outlet. "You'd think, after doing Dear Evan Hansen onstage for four years, I would have already known that."

"I try my best to focus on people who tell me it was moving to them and they really felt seen by it," he added. "It is very easy for the good to get drowned out by the bad."

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Many online criticized the significant age gap between Platt and Evan Hansen, a character who is a senior in high school.

In the NYT profile, the actor and singer said he has stopped using Twitter, which he said "is almost exclusively for tearing people down."

"I wasn't getting anything positive, and it's been really nice to be away," Platt said of the social media platform.

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Courtesy NBCUniversal Ben Platt and Kaitlyn Dever in Dear Evan Hansen

Platt previously expressed a belief that movie "probably" would not have been made without his involvement.

"The reaction is largely from people that don't understand the context of the piece," Platt said during a June 2021 appearance on the Zach Sang Show. "The fact that I created the role and workshopped it for 3 years, and did all of the out-of-town performances, and originated it on Broadway, and received the accolades that I did... and also not really understanding that were I not to do the movie, it probably wouldn't get made."

The actor added at the time that while he'd like to continuously defend himself online, he would rather just let people watch the film themselves.

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"My defensive response is to go on Twitter and be like, "Eff you guys, you don't even know that this wouldn't exist without me,' " Platt said. "And of course, that's not true entirely and that's not my place to say."

"All I have to do is let the work speak for itself," he concluded. "Hopefully people will realize that this is engrained in me and there wasn't really any question on anyone actually connected to the piece or who was actually a part of the film, there was never any kind of discussion that it wouldn't be me."