Barry Keoghan on Online Hate After Sabrina Carpenter Breakup: ‘It’s a Problem’
Irish actor Barry Keoghan has spoken publicly about the intense online abuse he experienced following his breakup with singer Sabrina Carpenter in December 2024, revealing the harassment led him to withdraw from public life and question his career path.
Appearing Friday on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up, Keoghan, 33, described being targeted with hateful comments focused on his physical appearance. “There’s a lot of hate online. It’s a lot of abuse of how I look,” he told host Ben Harlum. He explained that the negativity prompted him to significantly limit his online presence, though he still felt compelled to check how his appearances were being received. “It’s not nice,” Keoghan said, adding that the experience has made him “shy away” and “really go inside myself.”
The actor, known for roles in Peaky Blinders and the upcoming Beatles biopic, expressed concern that the online harassment is beginning to impact his work. “It’s becoming a problem,” he stated. “I don’t have to hide away given that I am hiding away. I don’t have to go to places because I actually don’t go to places because of these things. But when that starts leaking into your art, it becomes a problem because then you don’t even wish to be on screen anymore.”
Keoghan deactivated his Instagram account shortly after the breakup, and subsequently posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) addressing the situation. “I can only sit and take so much,” he wrote at the time. “My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond to…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 and Carpenter reportedly dated for approximately a year, sparking relationship rumors in late 2023 and making their first public appearance together at a Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty. Keoghan too featured in the music video for Carpenter’s hit song “Please Please Please,” from her album Short n’ Sweet.
Keoghan also voiced concerns about the potential impact of the online negativity on his three-year-ancient son, Brando, whom he shares with former girlfriend Alyson Sandro. “This proves disappointing for the fans, but it’s also disappointing that my little boy has to read all of this stuff when he gets older,” he said.
Currently, Keoghan is preparing to portray Ringo Starr in director Sam Mendes’ upcoming four-part film series about The Beatles. The project, titled The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, also stars Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. The films are scheduled for release in April 2028.