Arya Stark might seem like an unbreakable warrior on Game of Thrones, but the actress that plays her is just as human as the rest of us. Maisie Williams revealed that social media comments made her hate herself. We’re actually horrified that this continues to happen to people–famous or otherwise. While most of us have a handful of friends and loved ones on our social media accounts, Williams’ life is open for the world to see.
The Game of Thrones actress has been in the public eye since she was just a preteen, and the constant pressures and nasty comments from rude trolls took a toll on her mental health for some time. During a recent interview with Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, The New Mutants actress revealed that cruel social media comments made her hate herself. She explained, “It got to me a lot—I mean, it still does, who am I kidding—because it’s just a constant feed in your back pocket of what people think of you. And, I think we’d all like to say that we’d turn a blind eye and wouldn’t care, but it’s impossible.” People are really awful, and this type of horrid behavior needs to be filtered out by social media platforms. It’s unacceptable.
Williams went on to say that she used to have her mom act as a buffer if the comments were especially brutal. However, things got so bad that she began believing the horrible things that were said about her. She reflected, “I went through a huge period of my life where I’d tell myself every day that I hated myself. It got to a point where I’d be in a conversation with my friends and my mind would running and running, and I’d be thinking about all the stupid things I’ve said in my life, and it would just race and race.”
Thankfully, speaking out about her struggles and getting a bit older has helped Williams quiet the voices–even though they haven’t exactly gone away completely. She also leaned on her GoT sister and bestie Sophie Turner who has also be open about struggling with self-worth in the public eye.
The Night King Slayer explained, “There’s still a journey, I think. But at least dropping the act and just being who you truly are, I think that’s definitely a first step.”
Image: Helen Sloan/HBO.
No one can keep an iconic legend down.