Barry Keoghan slammed claims he is an “absent father” to his 2-year-old son, Brando.
During Monday’s episode of “The Louis Theroux Podcast,” the Irish actor opened up about his tumultuous childhood and how it impacted his relationship with fatherhood.
“People kind of have a judgment on me as a parent and I’m like, ‘Well until you’ve walked a day in my shoes growing up as a kid… then you can comment,’” he said.
The “Saltburn” star, 32, never had a relationship with his own father and was raised by a single mom, who battled addiction for his entire childhood, and his grandmother.
From the ages of 5 to 9, he and his younger brother were placed into foster care, where they spent seven years in 13 different foster homes. His mom died of a heroin overdose when he was 12.
Keoghan went on to welcome his son with ex Alyson Kierans in August 2022. Despite initially posting the little one online, he stopped after receiving an influx of hate over his parenting choices.
“There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Keoghan explained.
“Of course, it’s going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from,” he continued. “People just read that [as] laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse to be an absent father.’ But I am not an absent father.”
The “Banshees of Inisherin” actor said people have “used [his] son as ammunition” against him — which only makes him want to shield Brando from the spotlight even more.
“The more attention I’ve gotten lately and the more in the public I’ve become, the less I’ve posted about my child, because I don’t think it’s fair to put my child online,” he explained. “There are sick people out there.”
Although Keoghan stopped posting about his son to try to control the narrative, it only made things worse.
“Because I reigned that in, people draw a narrative and go, ‘Absent father, s—t, deadbeat dad,’ and more disgusting things I wouldn’t even repeat,” he continued. “Just the audacity of some people, man, it sickens me. It makes me furious.”
The “Batman” actor insisted that “people have no indication” of what he is really like as a dad since he rarely posts his son on social media.
“But I’m not gonna feed them,” he said. “I’m not gonna give them more material and go, ‘No, no, no, look, I’m with my child!’”
“You don’t deserve that,” he added.
Keoghan dated Kierans for nearly three years before splitting during the summer of 2023. However, the couple didn’t confirm their breakup until January 2024.
Despite their split, the actor had nothing but praise for his ex during an interview with GQ at the time.
“She’s done a great job and she’s an incredible mother,” he told the publication.
The actor began dating Sabrina Carpenter in early 2024 and confirmed they were still going strong during his interview with Theroux.
“I’m incredibly blessed,” he said. “She is such a strong, independent lady who is massively talented and special.”
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