During this moment, Keira Knightley is thinking back on her early years spent in the public eye.
The Pride and Prejudice actress, who is 39 years old, discussed her experiences in an interview with The Times that was published on Saturday, November 23. In the conversation, she discussed what it was like to cope with persistent rumors about her weight early on in her career, as well as allegations that she suffered from an eating problem.
It was clear to me that I was not struggling with an eating issue. She added, “I knew I was eating,” and went on to say that she has subsequently blacked out a significant portion of the event. “I don’t remember it in that classic way that goes along with trauma,” she added.
“There’s been a complete delete, and then some things will come up and I’ll suddenly have a very bodily memory of it because, ultimately, it’s public shaming, isn’t it?” the actress continued her statement. Given the fact that I was still a child when it occurred, it is clear that it is ingrained in my mind. I’ve been molded to fit around it.”
The woman who is a mother of two children made the observation that the media does not often show empathy when dealing with celebrities who are coping with eating disorders. She recalled a period when Mary-Kate Olsen, who had undergone rehabilitation for an eating problem in 2004, was publicly criticized.
I can very vividly recall that one of the Olsen twins was suffering from anorexia, and she sought treatment at a facility. It seemed as if they were making a joke about it when they questioned me about it during a press trip. The actor from Love, Actually said that she was intended to feel embarrassed for looking for assistance for her anorexia.
She continued by saying, “I remember sitting there just being like, ‘Wow, this is wild.’ Can you imagine?” She went on to say that the experience made her “really emotional” despite the fact that it was not about her. “I still can’t bear it,” she responded on the other hand.
During an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in 2018, Knightley said that she had a “mental breakdown” when she was 22 years old. She also disclosed that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her meteoric ascent to stardom.
“I went further into therapy and all of that, and [a therapist] said, ‘It’s amazing — I normally come in here and have people who think people are talking about them and they think that they are being followed, but in reality, they are not being followed.'” The presenter was informed by her that she was the first individual to whom anything like that was truly occurring.
In addition, the actress has already discussed the challenges she faces as a result of her stardom. During an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK in 2023, she said that she “never felt comfortable” with the way that she was portrayed in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean.
“I had a really restricted feeling. As she reflected on her experience, she recalled that her role in the Pirates series was a “object of everybody’s lust.” “I felt very stuck,” she said. Her subsequent statement was that “the roles afterward were about trying to break out of that.”
