Inde Navarrette’s Hollywood rise seemed unstoppable until a viral moment changed how fans view her.
The 25-year-old actress rose to fame earlier this year with the critical and commercial success of Obsession, a horror hit reportedly made for just $750,000 that went on to gross more than $514 million.
Her performance as Nikki Freeman earned widespread praise, while her off-screen personality quickly endeared her to audiences. But just weeks after audiences celebrated her transformation, Navarrette is facing a very different side of the spotlight.
A recent viral clip has dramatically shifted the tone of the online conversation around the actress.
Inde Navarrette’s Hot Ones appearance sparks unexpected backlash
On September 8, 2026, Inde Navarrette appeared on an episode of the YouTube show Hot Ones Versus alongside her Obsession co-star Michael Johnston, who played Baron “Bear” Bailey.
The duo answered personal questions while eating brutally spicy wings. Navarrette’s playful energy initially earned praise, but one clip from the episode quickly sparked negative online reaction.
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic, indenavarrette
In a now-viral clip that has garnered more than 98 million views on X, Navarrette can be seen laughing hysterically with a spoon in her mouth. The moment drew polarizing reactions after one viewer described the actress’s behavior as “pick me.”
“She has the energy of a girl who only hangs out with boys at school,” one person said.
A second user wrote, “She’s trying too hard; it’s embarrassing.”
The backlash came just weeks after the internet praised the 25-year-old for her dramatic transformation. Since her breakout role, Navarrette has drawn attention as fans compared before-and-after photos and noted a stark change in her appearance.
“Her glow-up needs to be studied, because she just became one of the hottest females overnight,” one person commented on X.
Fans defend Inde Navarrette as backlash draws Sydney Sweeney comparisons
While some users agreed that Navarrette’s behavior came across as “pick me,” others dismissed the criticism as unwarranted and misogynistic. Some users also claimed that much of the criticism aimed at the actress came from women.
Several users, meanwhile, attributed the backlash to the harsher side of fame, especially given how warmly Navarrette had been received just weeks earlier.
One fan asked, “There was a time, that was just a month or 2 ago, that she was just talented & celebrated. Now, because she has a personality, she’s somehow annoying?”
“We overdid the Inde Naverette love, and now I see more hate than praise for her. She’s just a girl in her twenties who acted her ass off and shot to fame overnight. Let the girl live!” a second added.
A few users also compared her situation to Sydney Sweeney, pointing to the backlash Sweeney has faced recently over her highly racy onscreen persona.
A third person wrote, “Why do the actresses who have mostly male fans always pull these stunts? First Sydney and now Inde.”
Inde Navarrette reflects on Obsession’s impact on her career
While the viral clip divided opinion, the backlash did little to diminish praise for Navarrette’s acting.
In a recent interview with Variety, the actress reflected on Obsession’s success, roughly a year after the film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Navarrette revealed that she received the script after deciding to pursue something different from her previous roles. Before landing the lead role in Obsession, she was best known for shows such as 13 Reasons Why (2020) and Superman & Lois (2021–2024).
After initially thinking she had tanked her audition, Navarrette felt “lucky” that director Curry Barker saw her potential.
“Everything changed for me,” she said of the film’s success, which opened up new opportunities, including pitching her own projects and producing.
Michael Mooney/USTA via Getty Images
“I am now in rooms that I could not even imagine,” she said.
Her upcoming projects include the X-Men reboot, the thriller Invertigo, and the sci-fi film The Waffle House Index.
“The laugh was fake”: Netizens have mixed feelings about Inde Navarrette’s viral moment
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