Would love to see the tone of this thread if it were a 37 y/o male with an underage female actress
I do think that we -- especially males -- tend to be protective of females more. I don't know if it's necessarily genetic, but males are on average stronger, so it would be more effective if we evolved to protect females. It could also be something that is just ingrained on a societal level as society's view on women was generally as the dainty homemaker for many years -- and arguably still is in parts of the US.
On the other hand, men tend to have a very destructive behavior toward other men, and I don't mean physically. Essentially, we've created a culture of being tough at your own detriment. The idea of a guy being sad/emotional is referred to as "being a pussy". Looking at this situation from the outside, and you may see this as a horny teen looking to insert himself into anything that's willing... and arguably, some teens (or older) are like that.
I think what really separates this is some of the words between the two. If I remember correctly, he called her "mommy" or something like that, and given the situation between him and his actual family, he was likely not in a good spot. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the two were both fond of each other, but the issue is that he likely needed help given his poor family situation. I've run into women like this in normal dating where they're incredibly promiscuous and clingy, and honestly, it just feels wrong as they don't need sex... they need help.