Joseph Gordon Levitt: 'It’s Mostly Tom’s Fault' For Heartbreak In '(500) Days Of Summer'

Updated August 7, 2018 at 6:49 AM

Joseph Gordon-Levitt wants you to know that while his character, Tom, ended up the heartbroken one in “(500) Days of Summer,” he has no one to blame but himself.

“It’s mostly Tom’s fault,” Gordon-Levitt told a fan via Twitter on Monday. “He’s projecting. He’s not listening. He’s selfish.”

Few fans of Marc Webb’s 2009 movie can forget Gordon-Levitt’s Tom, Zooey Deschanel’s Summer and their not-quite-meant-to-be relationship. The film is essentially a manic pixie daydream that explores what happens when reality doesn’t quite live up to our expectations but we refuse to believe it.

In January, a fan tweeted that he was still mad at Summer for “what she did” to Gordon-Levitt’s character in the movie. On Monday, Gordon-Levitt issued a response, telling the fan to “watch it again”:

Watch it again. It’s mostly Tom’s fault. He’s projecting. He’s not listening. He’s selfish. Luckily he grows by the end. https://t.co/lEJ8uXlpJw
— Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe) August 6, 2018

Gordon-Levitt’s response has, of course, gone viral. Many fans have shared their feelings about it:

i am not ok https://t.co/luQF5rqSUY
— Taylor Trudon (@taylortrudon) August 6, 2018

finally we get closure from the source. https://t.co/xzsRhqvcEs
— mike (@mehcarty) August 7, 2018

I still don't understand how people misread 500 days of Summer https://t.co/zRyWJs2w71
— Asim Burney (@asimburney) August 7, 2018

15 y/o me would only blame Summer but now I've come to realize how Tom was hella selfish as well. #characterimprovement 😂 https://t.co/48xEyVM1mo
— Eesha (@alltimeeesha_) August 7, 2018

Even Tom knows how problematic Tom is https://t.co/4lZkU5c4yY
— Kirsty (@_Just_Logan_) August 7, 2018

I HAD A HUGE ARGUMENT WITH FRIENDS IN HIGH SCHOOL OVER THIS !!! JGL BE WOKE https://t.co/3f67HT968v
— Wilmer Angelo 🌈 (@etherealbeing07) August 7, 2018

YOU CAN ALWAYS TRUST THIS MAN!!! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT 500DOS IS ONE OF MY FAV MOVIES BUT PPL STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND IT https://t.co/OLhjO3gZ1k
— ╰☆ fanni (@imitationpearl) August 7, 2018

The fan whose tweet started the whole thing, meanwhile, probably didn’t expect that Gordon-Levitt would respond to him in front of 4 million Twitter followers. (Well, why would he?)

I’m going to put my profile on private so I stop getting attacked about an opinion I had on a movie I haven’t seen since I was 13.
— Emperor Justin (@_EmperorJustin_) August 7, 2018

Gordon-Levitt has spoken before about how “selfish” his character in the film was. In an interview with Playboy in 2012, the actor said Tom’s got a pretty bad attitude.

“The ‘(500) Days of Summer’ attitude of ‘He wants you so bad’ seems attractive to some women and men, especially younger ones,” he said. “But I would encourage anyone who has a crush on my character to watch it again and examine how selfish he is.”

Excuse us, we need to go rewatch the movie ASAP.

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Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt arrives on the red carpet for the 85th Annual Academy Awards on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California. AFP PHOTO/JOE KLAMAR (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

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BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 08: Director and actor Joseph Gordon Levitt attends 'Don Jon's Addiction' Press Conference during the 63rd Berlinale International Film Festival at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 8, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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