Keira Knightley revealed how paparazzi stalked her every move when she was young
The actress said she went "mad" during Pirates of the Caribbean, as the paparazzi invaded her life
She dealt with the paps by wearing identical outfits daily
Actor Keira Knightley has recalled the horrible ordeal with paparazzi culture. In an interview, Knightley shared how she was verbally abused and stalked by photographers early in her career. She revealed how her fame after the success of Pirates of the Caribbean turned into a terrible experience when she was just 18, and it took a toll on her mental health.
Keira Knightley recalls paparazzi horror
The Oscar-nominated actress told The Times of London that she went "mad" when she was "relentlessly pursued" by the paps, and it took a toll on her mental health. "It was mostly ‘whore’ they’d shout. ‘Slut’ sometimes. Particularly if I was with someone — a boyfriend, my brother or my dad. They were trying to get a reaction out of them — provoking people into punching them so they could sue," she added.
"They were forcing people off the roads, then getting even bigger money for pictures of a crashed actress or whatever. And then Britney shaved her head, so it was like, ‘Great — we can push them into doing something fucking crazy,’” Knightley said further, recalling how tabloids exploited and targeted young women in the 2000s.
To make herself “worthless” to tabloids, the Pride and Prejudice actress started wearing the same clothes every day. She wore stripy T-shirts, jeans, and boots. "If I was being followed, I stopped walking. I’d literally stand there. One day, I stood there for five hours. It wasn’t a valuable shot to them if it was always me in the same clothes, standing still," she said.
The pressure led her to quit acting for some time, and her family asked her to “just walk.” Knightley was "very scruffy, which they also wouldn’t have expected."
"You just don’t make eye contact, go a bit hunched. I kind of slithered."
The 40-year-old star said that it was a "brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye" and she felt stalked by men.
On the work front, Knightley's latest release is The Woman in Cabin 10 on Netflix.
