Keira Knightley reveals she was victim of vile ‘rape speak’ as a teen movie star after starring in Pirates of the Caribbean and Love Actually
Keira Knightley has revealed she felt ‘stalked by men’ and faced ‘rape talk’ as a teenager after starring in Pirates Of The Caribbean.
The Oscar nominee, now 39, characterized Hollywood culture in the 2000s as “a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere” in which she was blamed for the aggressive and pushy interest men took in her.
Ms Knightley rose to fame with roles in the first of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series and Love Actually at the age of 17.
But the British star has acknowledged that her extraordinary success came at a “major cost” and that it was “very cruel to have your privacy taken away in your teens and early 20s.”
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times about the male attention she received in her early years as a celebrity, she said: ‘My jaw dropped. I wasn’t okay with it. I was very clear that it was absolutely shocking.
“There was a lot of gaslighting from a lot of men saying, ‘You wanted this.’ It was rape talk. You know, ‘This is what you deserve.’ There was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere.”
She added: ‘They very specifically meant that I wanted to be stalked by men. Whether that was stalking because someone was mentally ill, or because people were making money from it – it felt the same to me. It was a brutal time to be in the public eye as a young woman.”
Ms Knightley also commented on the “slightly stalkerish aspect” of her storyline in 2003 Christmas favorite Love Actually, in which Andrew Lincoln’s character turns up on her doorstep with playing cards to profess his love.
The Oscar nominee, now 39, characterized Hollywood culture in the 2000s as “a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere”
Ms Knightley rose to fame with roles in the first of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series and Love Actually at the age of 17
Ms. Knightley hasn’t appeared in a live-action TV role in more than two decades, but is now starring in Netflix’s British spy thriller series Black Doves.
She explained that while filming the scene, director Richard Curtis told her that she looked at Lincoln “like he’s creepy” and remembered how she “had to redo it to fix my face so he didn’t look creepy.”
She added, “I mean, there was a creep factor at the time, right? Besides, I knew I was 17. It seems like just a few years ago that everyone realized I was 17.”
Ms Knightley hasn’t had a live-action TV role in more than two decades, but is now starring in Netflix’s British spy thriller series Black Doves, alongside Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire and Paddington’s Ben Whishaw.
Speaking about the new role, she said: “My teenage self is very happy about this. Sometimes you have to listen to your teenage self and say, “This one’s for you.” I think she would have thought this was really cool.”