Keira Knightley recalls being ‘stalked by men’ at height of Pirates of the Caribbean fame

Keira Knightley is opening up about the dark side of stardom, particularly during her early twenties when she experienced being “stalked by men.”

In a revealing conversation with the Los Angeles Times, the Academy Award nominee reflected on her early days in Hollywood, discussing the intense public scrutiny and body-shaming she endured while growing up in the spotlight.

“It’s very brutal to have your privacy taken away in your teenage years, early 20s, and to be put under that scrutiny at a point when you are still growing,” Knightley said. “Having said that, I wouldn’t have the financial stability or the career that I do now without that period. I had a five-year period between the age of 17 and 21-ish, and I’m never going to have that kind of success again. It totally set me up for life. Did it come at a cost? Yes, it did. It came at a big cost.”

The British star shot to international fame in 2003 when she was just 18, starring in two blockbuster hits – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Love Actually. Her portrayal of Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates series, while career-defining, unfortunately attracted unwanted attention and inappropriate behavior from certain individuals.

Speaking about the public’s treatment of her, Knightley revealed that her “jaw dropped at the time.” “I didn’t think it was OK at the time,” she explained. “I was very clear on it being absolutely shocking. There was an amount of gaslighting to be told by a load of men that ‘you wanted this.’ It was rape speak. You know, ‘This is what you deserve.’ It was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere.”

The Pride & Prejudice star elaborated: “They very specifically meant I wanted to be stalked by men. Whether that was stalking because somebody was mentally ill, or because people were earning money from it — it felt the same to me. It was a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye.”

Looking at today’s landscape, more than twenty years after her rise to fame, Knightley believes social media has intensified these challenges for young women. “Social media has put that in a whole other context, when you look at the damage that’s been done to young women, to teenage girls,” Knightley added. “Ultimately, that’s what fame is — it’s being publicly shamed. A lot of teenage girls don’t survive that.”

Last month, the Atonement star reflected on her time making the Pirates films, sharing her complex relationship with the blockbuster franchise that starred her alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. While acknowledging how the series helped establish her presence in Hollywood, she also revealed how its massive success led to public criticism.

“It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time,” Knightley said of the franchise at the time. “I was seen as shit because of them, and yet because they did so well I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for. They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of, and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head.”