Barry Keoghan has revealed the extent of the abuse he has received online over his looks.
Keyboard warriors and bullies are all too common nowadays, hiding behind a screen to leave unkind comments about everyone from celebrities to random people on Instagram.
The actor, and ex of Sabrina Carpenter, has opened up about the way the hate he received made him feel, and says most comments focus on his appearance.
Keoghan said things got so bad following his split from the popstar back in 2024 that he went into hiding and wanted to avoid being seen in public due to the harassment he faced.
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The Saltburn star previously went as far as deleting his Instagram account to try and avoid the hatred and backlash he received following his high-profile breakup.
According to Billboard, while speaking on SiriusXM, the 33-year-old star confessed: “There’s a lot of hate online. It’s a lot of abuse of how I look."
He added sadly: “I think I removed myself from online, but I’m still a curious human being that wants to go on and, if I attend an event or if I go somewhere, you want to see how it was received, and it’s not nice.”
Keoghan admitted: “It’s made me shy away, it’s made me really go inside myself and not want to attend places, not want to go outside.”
He also expressed his fears for his 3-year-old son, Brando, who he shares with his ex-girlfriend, Alyson Sandro: "It is disappointing for the fans, but it’s also disappointing that my little boy has to read all of this stuff when he gets older."
Keoghan and Carpenter were a couple for around a year, with him even starring in the video for Please, Please, Please, before their high-profile split.
It's believed a number of Carpenter's most popular songs have been inspired by the Peaky Blinders star.
As well as being unpleasant to experience, the actor said it's damaging his work: “It’s becoming a problem."
“I don’t have to hide away because I am hiding away. I don’t have to go to places because I actually don’t go to places because of these things. But when that starts leaking into your art, it becomes a problem because then you don’t even want to be on screen anymore.”
In the wake of the split he deactivated his Instagram account, before sharing a post on X about his decision.
He wrote: “I can only sit and take so much, my name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond to.”
The star continued: “I deactivated my account because I can no longer let this stuff distract me from my family and work. The messages I have received no person should ever have to read them. Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine.”
He is next set to play Ringo Starr Beatles biopic series, but previously received critical acclaim for his roles in Saltburn and The Banshees of Inisherin.
Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity, Sabrina Carpenter, Barry Keoghan, Sex and Relationships, Social Media
Jen Thomas