Dean Butler Was Shocked By Response To His Kiss With Underage Costar In ‘Little House On The Prairie’: “That Casting Could Simply Never Happen Today”

Little House on The Prairie has been a household name and beloved title since its 1974 television debut. For as beloved as the story is, though, the television portrayal would likely not be well received today — or that’s what Dean Butler , the actor who played Almanzo Wilder in the series, believes.

In the Little House on the Prairie books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laura Wilder and Almanzo have a ten-year age gap. The television series diminished this by making the age gap on-screen five years, but hired actors who were eight years apart… one of whom was underage.

Butler recently spoke to Fox News Digital about some of the trials and tribulations he faced on set as discussed in his new memoir , Prairie Man.

Melissa Gilbert Says “F— It,” Accuses Oliver Stone Of “Humiliating And Horrid” Sexual Harassment

“You just couldn’t do it today,” Butler told the outlet about the age gap. “There would be way too much blowback. It’s remarkable that we didn’t get more blowback than we did.”

When they were cast in the show, Butler was 23, and Melissa Gilbert (Laura Wilder) was only 15. While neither the age gap in the original story nor in the television portrayal became a major issue, Butler believes that viewers in 2024 wouldn’t feel so nonchalant about it.

CLICK HERE TO GET EMAILS FROM DECIDER

“There’s been no casting pairing like what they did with us since then,” Butler said to Fox News Digital. “That casting could simply never happen today. Certainly not on a mainstream television show.”

Butler revealed that the show did receive some backlash for the age gap of the pairing after the episode titled “Sweet Sixteen” aired, in which Gilbert had her first kiss with Butler, which was her first kiss ever. Casting director Susan Sukman was threatened with being “burned at the stake” over the episode, in a letter published by a Midwest newspaper, Butler revealed.

“There were some letters…and comments about this age difference,” Butler told Fox. “Mothers were concerned…Seeing an obviously young Melissa Gilbert with someone significantly older than she was in this romantic relationship was challenging for some people. But, I think…people got the spirit of the program. They understood where this was coming from.”

Gilbert revealed in her own memoir published back in 2010 that the kiss was an extremely uncomfortable experience for her as a young woman.

“The biggest problem I had during all of that, was the physical space thing,” said Gilbert, as quoted by Butler in his own book. “I just wasn’t ready to have that kind of physical contact with anybody. When it came to sex and physicality and all that, I was basically being raised by a Puritan.”

While at the time the two may have had to deal with the awkward situation, there’s no bad blood today.

“The relationship I have with Melissa today is an important one in my life because of the work we did and how much it means to so many people. She’s good, I’m good, we’re good,” Butler told Fox.

For more entertainment news and streaming recommendations, visit decider.com