Many male celebrities have been given “DILF” or “Zaddy” statuses (take Survivor's Jeff Probst as an example), and it’s always fun when said celebrity finds out about it. One of those celebrities, Joe Mantegna, recently learned about his own DILF status, thanks to Criminal Minds: Evolution. Now he’s giving his true thoughts on the whole ordeal, and it might make his DILF status even stronger.
While the actor was reading thirst tweets as part of a segment for one of the best streaming services, Paramount+, he got one particular tweet that said “agent david rossi is a hot dilf,” to which Mantegna revealed he “doesn’t even know what a DILF is.” In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he admitted he truly did not know what it meant, as he’s basically never online:
It was all new to me. I don’t go on the internet. I know I have a presence [on social media], but my daughter runs it for me.
I definitely don’t blame the internet for giving him DILF status, and I can’t say I disagree. It is pretty funny to see how Mantegna reacted and how he didn't really know if it was a good or bad thing. Since his daughter mostly runs things for him on the internet, it wouldn’t be surprising if she gave him the low down on all the lingo after this video was filmed.
Despite not knowing what it meant, Joe Mantegna said he found the whole thing funny, especially seeing what fans were saying about his fellow cast members. Many of the tweets included how hot the cast looked, other NSFW posts, and much more. Witnessing their reactions in real-time makes it better, as it shows just how unhinged the Criminal Minds fandom is. Luckily, Mantegna and the cast are fine with it all, especially once he got caught up on all the lingo:
I thought it was pretty funny, especially when I looked at the stuff all the other cast members were [reading]. But yeah, when they hit me with DILF, I started to think of Disney characters or something. I'm not so naive. Later on, when somebody said, ‘You know what a MILF Is?’ And I thought, 'Ohhh, okay.' Well, alright. I'll take that as a compliment, I suppose. Look, without the fans, we are nothing. We're just acting in a vacuum. So God bless them, and I hope we're bringing them hours and hours of entertainment and amusement.
Considering what being a Zaddy hilariously did to Christopher Meloni, hopefully, being a DILF will not go to Mantegna’s head, but now I need his daughter’s opinion. Since Rossi has been a fan-favorite on Criminal Minds forever, it really was only just a matter of time before the actor behind him knew what fans really thought. Those thirst tweet reactions are always hilarious to watch, no matter the celebrity, but it's especially entertaining when it includes lingo that they have no clue about.
Criminal Minds: Evolution may be all dark and have mind-bending stakes, but the environment off-screen is the complete opposite. It’s nice that the cast can still have fun and joke around when working on a show that can be hard to handle at times. Thanks to each other and the fans, things are still staying light on set.
On top of this hilarious BTS situation, Season 2 of Evolution is certainly dazzling, as it's been including things like Easter eggs about Matthew Gray Gubler’s Reid. Paramount+ subscribers have a lot to look forward to, and that doesn’t just include DILF Joe Mantegna.
