Fame has its pitfalls. In order to earn it, you must have thick skin to not let hateful comments and remarks get to you.
You may think that Hollywood superstars don’t care what the internet trolls think of them or they may not always read the comments on their posts, but that’s not always true.
Celebrities are human, after all. They are just as vulnerable to negativity as we are, even more so if they have found fame at a young age.
Social media is a double-ended sword, which allows celebrities to connect with their fans on one hand, and be more exposed to unsightly comments from trolls on the other.
Billie Eilish has experienced this first-hand. The music star who rose to fame at the age of just 16 has dealt with her fair share of struggles against social media negativity.
The singer only recently opened up about how the hatred got so unbearable at one point that it pushed her to the brink of suicide.
Even with the support of millions of fans worldwide, several Grammy awards under her belt and millions of dollars in her bank account, Billie Eilish isn’t immune to mental health issues. In 2018, the singe was in such a bad place while touring in Germany, that she considered taking her life.
Before finding fame, Billie loved dancing and took the art very seriously. In her interview with Rolling Stones last year, she revealed that she has had depression ever since she was 13 after a serious hip injury forced her to part ways with her passion. Her dream of becoming a dancer was slipping from her fingers, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
At the time, Eilish was in throes of depression and even tried to harm herself because she thought she deserved pain.
Having gone through such a dark phase in her life, the young singer has used her fame to spread awareness for mental health issues, even taking part in ad campaigns that promoted support and acceptance for various mental health issues.
Last year, she spoke to GQ magazine about how online hate has made her depression worse over time. But thanks to the support of her family, especially her brother Finneas O’Connell, she was able to develop more resistance towards negative comments.
Since then, she uses social media sparingly, even though her fans would love to hear from her more often. She has quit Twitter completely, and hardly ever watches other people’s Instagram stories.