The hosts then clarified that the “narrative” was about cheating. Keoghan confirmed that was what he meant, though he did not name Carpenter directly during the exchange.
He said being in “a relationship in the public eye” can be difficult, then addressed the rumours that he had been unfaithful. Those claims intensified after TikTok influencer Breckie Hill reposted videos alleging Keoghan had cheated on Carpenter with her. Hill later said she “did not get with Barry” and had never met him, but Keoghan said those retractions were largely ignored by people attacking him online.
“Stop attacking and dragging me down”
Keoghan made clear he was not asking people to become supporters overnight.
He said he was not demanding that anyone “become my fan and like me,” but asked people to “stop assuming and also stop jumping on this narrative and attacking me and dragging me down in any way you can.”
The actor also said some online comments had gone far beyond criticism, including references to his late parents.
He called that “just absolutely disgusting and vile,” adding: “There’s videos on TikTok literally going, ‘I hate him.’”
Keoghan said he was not trying to play a “pity card,” but questioned why people online appeared so eager to “beat someone” like him. It is one thing to follow celebrity drama. It is another to turn it into a contact sport with strangers drafted in as targets.
A relationship that became public quickly
Keoghan and Carpenter were first romantically linked in December 2023, when they were seen on a dinner date in Los Angeles. Their relationship then moved further into the public eye through several high-profile appearances.
Keoghan supported Carpenter at Coachella, the pair attended the Met Gala together, and he appeared opposite her in the “Please Please Please” music video. By the following year, reports said they had split.
A few weeks after those reports, Keoghan deactivated his Instagram account and posted a statement on X criticising the abuse he said he had received.
“I can only sit and take so much. My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond to,” he wrote at the time.
“I have to respond now because it’s getting to a place where there are too many lines being crossed.
“Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine.”
He asked people to “be respectful” and said some had “crossed a line” by bringing his mother into the attacks.
He says the abuse has affected his work
Earlier this year, Keoghan also spoke about the issue on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up. He said he had faced “a lot of hate online” and “a lot of abuse of how I look.”
While he praised his “incredible fanbase” and said “people are so lovely out there,” he also said he had experienced a “nasty side” of online attention.
“It’s also disappointing that my little boy has to read all of this stuff when he gets older,” he said, referring to his 3-year-old son Brando. Brando’s mother is Keoghan’s former girlfriend Alyson Sandro.
Keoghan said he has now “removed” himself from being online, but the reaction has made him anxious about going out in public.
“It’s made me shy away, it’s made me really go inside myself and not want to attend places, not want to go outside,” he said.
He added that it “was becoming a problem” and said: “I actually don’t go to places because of these things.”
Keoghan also admitted the abuse had started to affect his relationship with acting, saying he “didn’t want to be on screen anymore.” For an actor whose recent work includes Saltburn, that is not a small consequence. The gossip cycle may move fast, but the people caught inside it still have to live with the impact after the timeline has moved on.
