Barry Keoghan has set the record straight after being branded a "deadbeat dad" and "absent father."
The Irish actor, known for his intense roles in films like Saltburn, recently opened up on The Louis Theroux Podcast about the online criticism he’s faced as a father.
The 32-year-old artist shares his 2-year-old son, Brando, with ex Alyson Sandro.
Highlights
- Barry Keoghan addressed accusations of being a "deadbeat dad" on a recent podcast.
- The actor said he reduced posts about his son due to harsh online critiques.
- “Of course, it’s going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from," he said.
- He felt strangers were using his son as "ammunition" against him.
Barry Keoghan addressed the harsh online criticism that labeled him a "deadbeat dad" and "absent father"
Image credits: Robert Okine / Getty Images
The onscreen star revealed that he has lately been pulling back from sharing photos of his little one on social media because of the constant criticism.
"There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said on the show, as quoted by People. “Of course, it's going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from.”
The Irish heartthrob shares his 2-year-old son Brando with ex Alyson Sandro
Image credits: Barry Keoghan
“People just read that [as] laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse to be an absent father,’" he added. "I’m not an absent father.”
The proud dad explained that he used to love posting about Brando and sharing cherished moments of fatherhood with his fans. But with time, strangers began making harsh assumptions about his parenting.
“People love to use my son as ammunition or whatever, and it kind of leads me to stop [posting him],” he shared. “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.”
"Just the audacity of some people, man, it sickens me. It makes me furious," he said about the constant criticism on social media
"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,” he continued. “Just the audacity of some people, man, it sickens me. It makes me furious.”
He insisted that the people commenting on his parenting skills have “no indication” of what he’s like as a father. Hence, "I ain't going to feed them more material...they don't deserve that,” he declared.
Barry is currently rumored to be dating singer Sabrina Carpenter.