Benny Blanco has come under fire following an interview with Barry Keoghan, in which he allegedly changed the subject after the actor discussed his struggles with addiction.
During a candid appearance on the music producer’s podcast, Friends Keep Secrets the Peaky Blinders star reflected on drug addiction, and surviving a near-death moment.
However, an Instagram reel promoting the episode was edited into a fast-paced clip, altering Barry’s voice for comedic effect and ending with Benny laughing and saying, “wow, let's go outside and talk about something fun!”
The clip started with Benny, who is Selena Gomez's husband, asking, “Did you used to do drugs?” to which Barry replied, “Yeah, yeah, that's why I'm clean now... 2.5 years.”
The Saltburn star mentioned, “On paper, my mum died at 32 from [heroin] and my dad passed away. But the curiosity of still wanting to do this for me, it took me three attempts of rehab.”
Then, the clip cut to Barry saying, “I technically did die for a few seconds,” as co-host Lil Dicky asked, “Did you have, like a moment of post-death vision?”
At that moment, the clip shifted with distorted audio and dreamlike music as Barry described a vision of a blonde woman walking away while he tried to follow her.
Barry's voice was then distorted as he continued: “And on this side there was loads of lads stabbing me. I was holding onto them and they were trying to push me over to this side and I was begging them that I could stay.”
He noted, “I was like, please let me stay, and they were like, alright, let them stay.”
The clip then cut the music and panned to Benny, who said, “wow, let’s go outside and talk about something fun,” before laughing alongside Lil Dicky.
Taking to the comment section, fans were left in shock, penning: “This clip really is a disservice to the story Barry was telling in the episode. This ‘reel-ifying’ everything for the sake of ‘content’ is really kind of depressing.”
Another noted, “maybe next time let’s validate someone when they choose to be vulnerable… especially when men decide to be vulnerable.”
The third remarked, “Ffs. Tone deaf. Some people really have no idea how hard it is to overcome addition. And moments like this shouldn't be dismissed for the sake of a laugh or shock value. Addiction is a real epidemic in this country.
Notably, Barry has frequently opened up about his struggles with addiction and a turbulent childhood in multiple foster homes.
