Daisy Ridley Says She’s Never Returning To Social Media

Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley erased any doubts about her return to social media. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Ridley described her use of Instagram and Facebook as forever “cut off like a Skywalker limb.”

Ridley rose to international prominence for her role as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It was during this time the actress had enough of social media and made the decision to walk away from all platforms.

Daisy Ridley and Pressure of Social Media

How did it all start? It began with online trolls who felt that the Star Wars franchise shouldn’t be led by a female character. “I honestly think now with social media and stuff…it’s great to have freedom of expression, but I do feel like people think opinions have so much weight,” the actress said. 

Ridley mentioned that her decision to leave social media is because she didn’t want to see such comments. “I don’t really think bad vibes should have the sun shone on them,” she added.

It is important to note the last time the actress was seen on a social media page was back in 2016 when she deleted her Instagram account. With her reasons including the pressure to post often, perhaps in a bid to remain relevant. The actress said “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.”

Following the deletion of her Instagram account, fans flooded the account of co-star John Boyega demanding explanations. Boyega responded to some of the fans commenting on his photos by simply saying “She’s doing what’s best for her. I won’t be advising my friend to come back. Sorry.” And that was it, or so we thought. 

Mere weeks later, Ridley deleted her Facebook account as well. Currently, there are no official or real accounts of the actress on any social media platform except fan accounts. And following her recent interview, this isn’t changing anytime soon. It hasn’t been the first time a celebrity has deleted their account as others have done this before. But they usually return after a few weeks or months off, this time though, that isn’t happening. 

#StarWars lead Daisy Ridley says her relationship with social media is “cut off like a Skywalker limb” pic.twitter.com/79QM3fDWtF

— AM2DM by BuzzFeed News (@AM2DM) June 26, 2019

Social Media and Online Bullying

It’s no secret that online trolls and bullies contribute to the problems society faces today. The second most followed A-lister on Instagram, Selena Gomez said in an interview with Elle Magazine, that social media is terrible for young people. Television personality, model and wife to John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, briefly quit Twitter in 2014. This was due to the model receiving venomous comments on her tweets.

Award-winning artist, Sam Smith has also received abuse online that’s led him to take a brief hiatus from social media. In 2016, he was trolled for being the first openly gay male to receive music’s greatest accolade, an Oscar.

Singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran also took a break from social media in 2015. Although he did return later, the singer announced that he will stop reading tweets from others due to the negativity online.

Other celebrities like Kanye West, Justin Bieber, John Mayer, Miley Cyrus, Adele, Emma Stone among others have been forced to quit social media for a while or in the case of Daisy Ridley, forever.