Featured Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Topics: Barry Keoghan, Celebrity
Callum Jones
Topics: Barry Keoghan, Celebrity
Barry Keoghan has spoken about the online 'hate' he's received about his appearance and explained why 'it’s becoming a problem'.
The Saltburn actor has previously opened up about online trolls while discussing his career and everything in between on The Louis Theroux Podcast in November 2024.
"People kind of have a judgment on me as a parent," Keoghan said. "I’m like, well until you’ve walked a day in my shoes growing up as a kid, then you can’t comment. There’s a lot online.
"If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength I have, I wouldn’t be sitting here."
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Now, the 33-year-old has been speaking about the recent hate he's received regarding his appearance, which has ultimately made him want to take a break from being in the public eye.
During an interview on SiriusXM's The Morning Mash Up, Keoghan - who stars as Duke Shelby in Netflix's new Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man - said: "There's a lot of hate online. There's a lot of abuse of how I look, and it's kind of past the point of - you know, everyone goes through that… but it's made me shy away."
He went on to say: "It's made me really go inside myself, not want to attend places, not want to go outside. I say this being absolute pure and honest to you. It's becoming a problem."
Keoghan deactivated his Instagram account in December 2024 after revealing that he'd received messages that 'no person should ever have to read'.
Discussing the hate following rumors that he'd split from singer Sabrina Carpenter, Keoghan added at the time: "Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine."
While he may have deleted social media, Keoghan hasn't been able to avoid online trolls altogether.
He added on The Morning Mash Up: "I'm still a curious human being that wants to go on [the internet]. And if I attend an event or if I go somewhere, you want to see how it's received. And it's not nice, you know?"
Keoghan is worried stepping back from the limelight may well impact his career and his ability to secure gigs in the future.
"So, 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," he said. "When that starts leaking into your art, it becomes a problem, because then you don't want to even be on screen anymore."
Keoghan admitted he finds it 'disappointing that my little boy has to read all of this stuff when he gets older'. The Irish star has a son called Brando, who he welcomed with his ex-girlfriend, Alyson Sandro, in August 2022.
Thankfully, though, he acknowledged that he still has his 'incredible fan base' behind him.