Saltburn star Barry Keoghan has fired back at online accusations that he is a ‘deadbeat dad’ confessing that it makes him furious.
The BAFTA-winning actor has increasingly been in the public eye since his starring role in Emerald Fennell’s hit thriller Saltburn and his public relationship with pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
As he has gained more fame, Keoghan has received criticism on social media about not posting his son. He has one son from a previous relationship and has publicly spoken about his experience of fatherhood.
Now, he has addressed criticisms about his personal life. Speaking on the Louis Theroux Podcast, he admitted: “There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength to have, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
He continued: “Of course, [my childhood is] 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.”
Keoghan’s mother struggled with heroin addiction and died when he was 12, leading the Irish actor to grow up in foster care. Opening up further about the public’s perception of his personal life, he continued: “The more attention I’ve got 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.
“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, makes me furious.”
Despite choosing to stay away from social media, Keoghan confessed that he occasionally browses the internet, saying: “But again, when I’ve got a bit of time, I am a curious being like all of us and you want to know what [people are saying online] especially when it’s slander and when it’s bad comments attacking my appearance or attacking me as a father. I’ve even blocked out certain words because I don’t want to read that.”
The Podcast episode, recorded in September, delves into the actor’s religion, previous film roles and upbringing.
The 32-year-old actor stars in the upcoming coming-of-age drama Bird, which premieres on November 8. He is also starring in an upcoming Peaky Blinders movie alongside Cillian Murphy.
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify