:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(745x424:747x426)/barry-keoghan-son-brando-110524-9ef16c6e0c2f45e38a99a110eadc313c.jpg "Barry Keoghan Responds to Accusations He’s a ‘Deadbeat Dad’ to 2-Year-Old Son Brando: ‘It Sickens Me’")
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Barry Keoghan is hitting back at accusations that he’s a “deadbeat dad.”
On the Tuesday, Nov. 5 episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, the Saltburn actor, 32, opened up about the criticism he’s received online as a dad to son Brando, 2, whom he shares with ex Alyson Sandro. While the proud dad previously loved to share his baby boy online, he decided to stop when his life became more public and accusations about his parenting began.
“There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Keoghan explained. “Of course, it’s going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from. People just read that [as] laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse to be an absent father.’”
“I’m not an absent father,” he urged.
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He continued, “People love to use my son as ammunition or whatever, and it kind of leads me to stop [posting him.] The more attention I’ve gotten lately and the more in the public I’ve become, the less I’ve posted about my child, because I don’t think it’s fair to put my child online.”
“Because I reigned that in, people draw a narrative and go, ‘Absent father, s—, deadbeat dad,’ and more disgusting things I wouldn’t even repeat. Just the audacity of some people, man, it sickens me. It makes me furious.”
He added that “these people have no indication” of what he’s like as a dad, and “I ain’t going to feed them more material…they don’t deserve that.”
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While he doesn’t post his son often, Keoghan shared a sweet selfie with Brando in August. The dad of one posed alongside the 2-year-old as the little boy played with toys on a table.
Although Brando has strawberry-blond hair that is lighter than his dad’s, he is a mini version of the Irish actor. The pair share the same bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks.
Keoghan gave insight into his son’s personality in the caption, and it seems the duo have some irresistible traits in common.
“He’s more of a charmer than I am. Our wee Brando ☘️🏴,” the Bird actor captioned the photo.