Jonah Hill has announced that he will no longer be involved in the promotion of his films because his mental health problems are exacerbated by media appearances and public events.
The 38-year-old actor revealed his plan in an open letter published by Deadline ahead of the debut of his new documentary, Stutz, which he directed. The film is about Hill’s relationship with her therapist, Phil Stutz, whom Hill began seeing in 2017 on the recommendation of her colleague Joaquin Phoenix. In the film Hill and her therapist talk about her mental health.
“Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to understand that I have spent almost 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public events,” he wrote Hill.
He said the “whole purpose” of making Stutz was to “give the therapy and the tools I’ve learned in therapy to a wide audience for private use through an entertaining film.”
Hill said that while he waited for audiences to see the film, “you won’t see me promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, while I take this important step to protect myself. If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or the film.
“I tend to get scared when I see letters or statements like this, but I understand that I am one of the privileged few who can afford to take some time off. I won’t lose my job while I work through my anxiety. With this letter and with Stutz, I hope it will become more normal for people to talk and act on these things. So that they can take steps to feel better and so that the people in their lives can understand their problems more clearly.”
Hill’s decision is reminiscent of tennis player Naomi Osaka’s decision a year ago, when she said she would not participate in mandatory press conferences during the 2021 French Open because of questions from reporters about her mental health. Since then, Osaka has talked about hiring a therapist for the first time and has held a few press conferences again.
Earlier this week, Spider-Man actor Tom Holland announced he was stepping away from social media as he found it to be “damaging” to his mental health.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, which has 67 million followers, the 26-year-old said: “I find Instagram and Twitter overstimulating, overwhelming. I get caught up and spiral when I read things about myself online and ultimately it’s very damaging to my mental state. So I decided to take a step back and delete the app.”
Other stars such as Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello and Demi Lovato have also retired from social media due to their mental health.
British actor Robert Lindsay, 72, announced on Sunday that he intended to spend less time on Twitter, after his son told him it was “affecting my daily life, my thoughts and my imagination”.
“Of course he’s right and I need to detox from the stress of social media and focus on what I set out to do three years ago and write,” the My Family actor wrote.
-
In Australia, support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 and MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 123 3393. , Mental Health America is available at 800-273-8255