Barry is framing this as a story about protecting his mental health and shielding his 3-year-old son Brando from online toxicity. His team wants sympathy for an actor who's been run off social media by cruel comments.
The internet went hard at Keoghan's appearance after the breakup—sources say the comments about his looks were particularly vicious. This isn't the first time a celebrity's looks have been weaponized post-breakup, but Keoghan says it's affecting whether he even wants to act anymore.
Keoghan appeared on SiriusXM's The Morning Mash Up on March 20, 2026. He dated Sabrina Carpenter for about a year, splitting in December 2024. He deleted his Instagram after the breakup and wrote on X: 'My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond to' and received messages 'no person should ever have to read them.'
This is what happens when celebrity relationships end in the public eye—the ex gets dragged, and sometimes the internet decides your face is the problem. Keoghan's vulnerability here is real, but let's be honest: this is what happens when you date someone with 60 million followers.
Barry Keoghan is done staying quiet. The Irish actor appeared on SiriusXM's The Morning Mash Up on Friday (March 20) and pulled back the curtain on just how brutal the online harassment became after his high-profile breakup with Sabrina Carpenter—and folks, it's uglier than we thought.
"There's a lot of hate online. It's a lot of abuse of how I look," Keoghan told host Ben Harlum, not mincing words. The 33-year-old star admitted he's been so affected by the comments that he's essentially gone into hiding. "It's made me shy away, it's made me really go inside myself and not want to attend places, not want to go outside," he said. That's a bold statement from someone whose career depends on being seen.
But here's where it gets really dark. Keoghan revealed the harassment has gotten so bad that it's now affecting his actual work. "It's becoming a problem," he explained. "I don't have to hide away because 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 want to be on screen anymore." That's not just sad—that's a career crisis waiting to happen.
Following their December 2024 split (they dated for about a year, first sparking rumors in late 2023), Keoghan deleted his Instagram and issued a scathing statement on X. "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." He didn't stop there, adding: "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." That's the tea right there—people were dragging him as a parent, which is where lines should definitely be drawn.
Perhaps most heartbreaking? His concern for his 3-year-old son Brando (whom he welcomed with former girlfriend Alyson Sandro). "It is disappointing for the fans, but it's also disappointing that my little boy has to read all of this stuff when he gets older," Keoghan said. The actor is currently gearing up to play Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes' four-part Beatles biopic series (slated for April 2028 release, alongside Paul Mescal as McCartney), but one has to wonder how easy it is to step into that legendary role when the internet is tearing you apart daily. The man is literally playing a Beatle and still feels like he can't leave his house. That's the state of celebrity in 2026.
