Dylan O'Brien [1] is in his self-described "slut era," and he's making no apologies for it. The actor broke the news in a viral tweet [2] reading "slut era" back in April, but now he's ready to shed some light on what this stage of life actually entails. "It's just like a concept, it's like an energy. It's also sort of like a prediction of where the world was heading," he told E! News [3] before breaking into laughter. "Who knew how deep that tweet was? Who knew?"

O'Brien admitted this side of him has actually influenced a few of his recent jobs. When asked whether his character in the new film "Not Okay [4]" inspired his slut era or whether his personal slut era inspired his character, he responded, "Ooh, I love this. . . . My own slut era inspired the performance," unable to take the question too seriously. "That clearly has always been inside me somewhere."

slut era

— Dylan O'Brien (@dylanobrien) April 27, 2022 [5]

"Not Okay" hit Hulu on July 29. O'Brien stars alongside Zoey Deutch [6] as Colin, an attention-seeking microinfluencer. The plot follows Deutch's character, who pretends to survive a deadly terrorist attack for the followers and fame, only to find that "online notoriety comes with a terrible price," according to the film's log line.

As for O'Brien's character in real life, there are still a few things he prefers to keep to himself. Although his slut era is an undeniably pivotal moment in time, whether or not he's still in it, he'll never tell. "That stays with me," he said.