Barry Keoghan took to X on Saturday to announce that he deactivated his Instagram account following heavy speculation surrounding his relationship with his infant son and his breakup with pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter.
After Keoghan had a son with his now ex-partner Alyson Sandro in August 2022, the pair broke up the following summer. Shortly after, Keoghan started dating Carpenter, a quick pivot that led to social media backlash for the 32-year-old actor. Carpenter and Keoghan have now broken up, and their split has been plagued by rumors that Keoghan had cheated. The compounded controversies seemingly led Keoghan to leave Instagram.
“I can only sit and take so much. My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond to,” Keoghan said. “I have to respond now because it’s getting to a place where there are too many lines being crossed. I deactivated my account because I can no longer let this stuff distract from my family and my 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.”
Keoghan added that in a few cases, the harassment went beyond social media speculation. He noted that some went as far as “knocking on my granny’s door” and “sitting outside my baby boy’s house.”
“Each and every day I work harder to push myself on every level to be the healthiest and strongest person for that boy,” Keoghan continued. “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. I need you to [remember] he has to read ALL of this about his father when he is older. Please be respectful to all. Thank u x.”
The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr recently revealed that Keoghan will play him in Sam Mendes’ upcoming film series about the legendary British rock group. The untitled Sony Pictures project will consist of four films, each from a different Beatles’ point of view.