[Blind Gossip] Sometimes celebrities take a break from social media. Their comeback is usually accompanied by an explanation of why they needed to take a break or just a simple, “Hey! I’m back!”
Actress Evangeline Lilly – best known for Lost and Ant Man – has done something completely different.
She has done a 180 on her social media posts. She went from smiling to… well, we don’t know what’s going on.
She shaved her head for some unknown reason.
Then, a few days ago, she went on a rant against “government surveillance” and how she was scared of being “erased” by “facial recognition technology.”
Then she followed up that diatribe with some sad photos and a lengthy post about darkness and trauma that is now getting a lot of attention.
I had such a rough year last year but I didn’t want to share all of it with you because i didn’t want to be a dark cloud in your world. All I’ve ever wanted to do was put joy in the world. To add sunshine. I didn’t want you to be having a perfectly good day and then have my post make you sad. But I struggle deeply with feeling that all I ever am is what I feel everyone else wants and needs me to be. I often feel alone and unseen.
I have always known I was strong. Strong enough, I believed, to hold all my pain and everyone else’s also. So I kept it all inside, kept it to myself, and made space in there to hold your pain, too. Publicly, I hid and made light of my deepest traumas and laughed in the face of my most profound pain.
She certainly wouldn’t be the first person to curate her life for social media users.
Until, last year, I broke. Suddenly I was forced to face my weakness and my limitations, my trauma and fears. I was left with no choice but to accept that I am limited or…carry on down a road of perfectionist denial that would inevitably kill me.
Trauma? Pain? Kill me? That’s some very frightening language. Is this a cry for help?
I am coming out of that deep place, slowly. As I start to breathe the fresh air, as I start to find my new, limited footing, I feel disconnected from you. I feel it’s pointless to share the light when you don’t know my darkness. I feel lost and apathetic about this space we share.
But I ask myself…would you have wanted to come along in my darkness had I shared it?
Using social media to post sad photos and use frightening language and look for sympathy from millions of strangers is a mysterious and interesting choice.
I’m happy! I’m sad! I’m public! I’m private!
It’s like a weird episode of Lost. We’re alive! We’re dead!
She’s posting about it, so she obviously wants people to talk about her. So, let’s talk about her.
Similar: Downer After Downer
What happened/what’s going on with her?
[Optional] Do you keep your social media public or private?
Scarlet Peaches says
It’s called depression and it’s nothing to laugh about. I hope she finds in herself and her family something to hang on to. All we need sometimes is a strand of something to hang on to. Sending Evangeline and all who have fallen, some love. We all need a little love some time.
catlady says
So she’s had a tough time, she’s probably had a tonne of therapy and her therapist has told she needs to ‘open up more’ ‘be more honest’ and that’s what she’s doing. It’s not a ‘bid for attention’ it’s just how a person reacts. It’s not even as if she’s stopped working – she’s got 3 movies in post production right now. She’s just not been doing publicity and social media as much lately. Woman takes a brief break and everyone acts like she’s lost her mind.
draconius25 says
Depression/Anxiety, poor diet, lack of close personal relationships and Midlife Crisis.
grumpy says
As someone who suffers from mental health issues I can easily recognize the signs . Depression and yes feeling lost are all clear signs . Hopefully she gets help and some meds. And hopefully one day people will take mental health seriously
amagod121 says
I am guessing that she has experienced sexual abuse/assault in the past. Perhaps in her childhood? Stuffing feelings for many years is a common method that abused children use to neutralize the pain until they are more ready to deal with it. When it does surfacs, it can present as anxiety, flashbacks, great sorrow/depression & even anger. It’s completely normal & gets less painful the more you share it with a professional. Stuffing the pain no longer works. Share and be well. 😊
montebell says
She obviously had some venting to do. She either wanted everyone to know where and how she’s been or is in serious need of help. Does she have a big fan base? I keep social media private on FB, and have snoozed more than one friend for oversharing or over-posting nonsense things just for attention. Especially the political stuff.
Baileygirl says
It sounds like severe clinical depression. Let’s hope she is getting the correct help.
I Am PunkA says
She has always been private, even when on Lost. And also had some interesting relationship issues. Had a house burn down in Hawaii. Married young and divorced. Then married a rando from Hawaii.
Probably dealing with childhood trauma issues. Hope she gets what she needs.
pancakephanny says
I wonder if she was a victim of Harvey Weinstein and is now acting out now that he’s been arrested?
GGReelz says
Not a professional, but I would guess a mental break down. Reminds me of B.Spears(shaving of head, social ramblings, etc.).
Maybe she stopped taking her medication or needs medication.
ILikeSleep21 says
I suffer with mental health issues and it’s a beast within itself. People have different ways of coping and asking for help. Sometimes all you want to know is that someone cares. I feel for her and I wish her the best of luck with dealing with her demons.
And I keep my social media private.
KarmaFlower says
Didn’t she go out with Pete Davidson before Cindy Crawford’s daughter? I wonder if the unknown reason behind that pairing was he could “see” her. So many people assumed she was just using him. Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe he related to what she had to say.
draconius25 says
That was Kate “Thirsty” Beckinsale.
weltschmerz says
I only have Facebook. I used to have it public, but I had a Toxic relative throw a fit to another relative (on the 2nd person’s birthday, bc Toxic doesn’t care about anyone but herself) about one of my posts. She said I was talking bad about her. But it was a generic post where I did not name names. I had no idea Toxic even knew about my Facebook. 2nd relative believed Toxic & yelled at me w/o even asking if any of this was true. So, I made my FB private & I don’t even post anymore.
sunshine702 says
Sounds like anxiety/depression from Hollywood fame.
I have very little social media.
zappy2050 says
Unfortunately, you cannot avoid your problems forever – eventually you have to face them – head on!
if I was to guess, I would say she had some sexual abuse and the MeToo movement brought it back to her mentally – so she is having/had a mental breakdown.
You can compartmentalize – but eventually have to address the underlying problem – even if it is years later. A good example is Kanye West who never dealt with his mother’s death at the time. It is not a good or bad thing – it just is.
zappy2050 says
I am not on any social media platforms – linkedin, facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, etc. I felt early on that being on them would come with anxiety and unnecessary pressure. Looking back, I think I made a really wise decision.
ohiknowthis says
Sounds like mental illness. Hope she gets some help. I keep my life off social media for the most part. I don’t use or read that stuff. It’s toxic.
mayer2816 says
Probably an abusive relationship
Optional: I don’t have twitter, no active instagram, open fb once in a month, and just recently quit watching youtube. It’s easier when you’ve always been private, good luck to people who’s addicted to it already.. won’t be easy.
parkland45 says
This sounds like that cry for help we’ve heard about, over & over. Didn’t Britney shave her head at one point during her struggles with mental health? I hope Evangeline’s family is doing all they can to help her.
PatioPrincess says
Drugs and mental illness.
sippintea says
This sounds very much like depression. Especially her use of the word apathetic.
LAmariposa says
Being in the public eye is tough, so I suspect it’s a mental breakdown 🙁 Plus, she’s never come across as thirsty.
I keep my SM private. Unless u have some kind of goal (attract more followers, business reasons, etc), why go public? But to each their own.
fball0921 says
She might be having a mental break or meltdown. She needs help and/or counseling not the advice or attention on social media. I keep mine private.
5klp471 says
Is it just me, or does this sound like a case of “Looking For Attention Any Way I Can Get It” disease? Bipolar? Manic depressive? Lupus? Lyme disease?
Private, but I just realized I use the same handle on the Twitter.
Katmandu says
First impulse it to blame it on drugs, of course, all those people sniff, snort, and inject anything money can buy. But – she’s been a reluctant actress from the start and she was somewhat taken aback by the popularity of ‘Lost’. Her language, the paranoia, weird behavior and language has many of the hallmarks of schizophrenia. Not just bipolar, that is some serious stuff, ‘tinfoil hat territory ‘. I hope someone is looking after her well-being, that is a serious mental illness.
CanaryCry says
I’m getting a Margot Kidder vibe from this. Terrible, terrible place to be.
My social media is public – won’t give out my identity here 😎
nothinggal says
Dead career needs reviving or a Britney-esque public meltdown is sure to follow
Nancy says
What happened/what’s going on with her? This is what’s called ‘depression’.
[Optional] Do you keep your social media public or private? Private. Fact is I don’t do FB or Instagram. I only look at FB when someone sends me a message and I don’t even look at all the messages. I think people are strange to overshare.