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ACTOR BARRY KEOGHAN has asked people to “be respectful” after he deactivated his Instagram account after he claims derogatory comments were made about him and his family on the platform.
In a statement, the 32-year-old said he would normally not respond to such comments but that “lines were crossed” after people allegedly showed up outside his grandmother’s and his son’s homes.
Keoghan said he could no longer deal with “lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine” taking place on the platform.
The actor, who has been well known on Irish television screens over the last decade, was launched into worldwide fame following his role in the film Saltburn last year.
He had been in a long-term relationship with American singer and songwriter Sabrina Carpenter, but the pair have reportedly split up in recent weeks.
Posting to X this weekend, Keoghan said he can “only sit and take so much” and that he felt the need to address online commentary after people allegedly showed up at his family’s homes.
“The messages I have received, no person should ever have to read them,” he said, adding that some have “dragged my character and everything I worked extremely hard for and stand for”.
Keoghan detailed that some commentary referenced his upbringing in a derogatory manner and mentioned his late mother, who passed away following a drug addiction when he was a teenager.
As a child, the actor was in foster care with his brother and was later taken in by his grandmother, aunt and older sister. Keoghan claimed that some people had knocked on his grandmother’s door in recent weeks.
The father-of-one also claimed that people were sitting outside his child’s home, adding that it was “crossing a line”.
“Each-and-every day I work harder to push myself on every level to be the healthiest and strongest person for that boy,” Keoghan said, referring to his son.
“I want to provide opportunities for him to learn, fail and grow. I want him to be able to look up to his daddy, to have full trust in me and know I will have his back no matter what,” he added.
Keoghan asked that people online show respect to each other and issued a reminder that his son might read what has been written about him on the internet.
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