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Last October, Stranger Things actor Charlie Heaton was denied access to the US and missed the second season premiere of the Netflix original supernatural series due to traces of cocaine found in his luggage. Now, five months later, the actor is breaking his silence about the bust, confessing that the experience “was f***ing awful.”

The 23-year-old actor, who plays Jonathon Byers on the series, was caught by drug-sniffing dogs at LAX with a “very small amount” of the drug on his personal items. Heaton was not arrested, but instead sent back to the UK, forcing him to miss the highly anticipated Season 2 premiere.

Speaking about the incident for the first time to Flaunt magazine, he recounted: “It was f***ing awful. It was just awful. It was hard. Everything happened so fast, and I hadn’t come to terms with the fact that I was famous. When something steps in from the work you are doing and breaks into your personal life…you feel kind of vulnerable.”

Although this is the first time the actor has opened up about the incident, he did release a statement shortly after the bust, declaring “I do want to clarify that I was not arrested or charged with a crime, and cooperated fully with the U.S. officials at LAX.”

Since the incident, Heaton did confirm that he has been allowed back into the US to film the third season of the hit series. “At the end of the day I just wanted to go back,’ he explained. ‘I want to work and continue to work—that’s all I’ve ever done.”

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

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