Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley has revealed she deleted her Instagram account because of the “pressure” of posting to millions of followers.
Daisy, who played Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, quit the social media app last month after reportedly receiving online abuse following a post about US gun violence.
Speaking at the Student Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Daisy said she had a “lot of growing up to do” and had no immediate plans to return to the photo-sharing site.
Daisy Ridley in Hollywood (Clint Spaulding/AP)
“I felt a pressure being on it,” she told the Press Association.
“I was like ‘I need to post. Oh my god, it’s been this many days’. It’s actually been kind of nice not to be on it.
“I’m 24. I have a lot of growing up to do. I have to deal with loads of stuff myself personally. For that to be projected with millions of people watching, that is like a bit of an extra pressure.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (David James/Lucasfilm)
“I think some people handle it well. Just right now it’s not for me but who knows.”
Daisy, who had 2.3 million Instagram followers before leaving the site, was reportedly targeted by online trolls after she shared a photo of herself after the 2016 Teen Choice Awards.
She had been joined at the ceremony by teenage relatives of victims of mass shootings in Orlando, Newtown and San Bernardino.
Daisy Ridley accepts an award at the Teen Choice Awards (Chris Pizzello/AP/PA)
In an Instagram post, Daisy wrote: “As I sat in the audience yesterday tears were streaming down my face at the tribute to those that have been lost to gun violence.”
She signed off the message with the hashtag “stoptheviolence”.
Daisy had previously taken to Instagram to say she would “not apologise” for her body in response to criticism on social media that she was too thin.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here