This story discusses eating disorders. If you or someone you know has an eating disorder please call the National Eating Disorder Association at (800) 931-2237 or visit the website for a live chat. If you feel like you’re in crisis text "NEDA" to 741741 to talk with someone at the crisis text line.
Keira Knightley is opening up about the intense public scrutiny she faced regarding her body and weight at the height of her career.
In a recent interview with The Times published on Saturday, Nov. 23, the actress said that the near-constant speculation that she had an eating disorder was "traumatic."
"I knew I wasn't [dealing with an eating disorder]. I knew I was eating," she told the publication, adding that she has mentally blocked out a good portion of that time in her career, explaining that "in that classic trauma way, I don’t remember it."
"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?" she added. "It’s obviously part of my psyche, given how young I was when it happened. I’ve been made around it."
Knightley recalled one incident in particular when the scrutiny hit a fever pitch, after reports surfaced that fellow actress Mary-Kate Olsen entered an inpatient rehabilitation program to treat an eating disorder.
Instead of being met with support and praise for addressing and treating the issue, the Olsen twin was mocked and ridiculed in the press.
"I remember viscerally one of the Olsen twins had anorexia, and she went into a clinic," Knightley recalled. "I remember being asked about it on a press tour, like it was a joke. She was meant to be shamed for seeking help for anorexia."
Knightley went on to explain that, at the time, she thought the coverage was "wild."
"I remember sitting there just being like, ‘Wow, this is wild.’ Can you imagine?" explained, adding that she was incredibly "emotional" over the ordeal despite the coverage focusing on another actress.
"I still can't bear it," she added.
In 2018, during an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, the actress revealed she had a "mental breakdown" when she was 22 as a result of her fame and intense coverage in the press.
"I went deep into therapy and all of that, and [a therapist] said, ‘It’s amazing—I normally come in here and have people that think people are talking about them and they think that they’re being followed, but actually they’re not," she recalled at the time. "You’re the first person that actually that is happening to!'"
