Keira Knightley Was ‘Stalked by Men’ Amid ‘Pirates’ Fame and Told It’s ‘What You Deserve’ and ‘You Wanted This’: ‘It Was Rape Speak’ and ‘Gaslighting’

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Keira Knightley‘s life changed forever in 2003 when the the back-to-back releases of Disney’s blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and Richard Curtis’ Christmas romance “Love Actually” turned her into a global star practically overnight.

The actor was 17 years old when she shot these movies and 18 when they opened. Such instant fame as a teenager came at a “big price,” Knightley recently told the Los Angeles Times.

The actor has been vocal in interviews throughout her career about how the press took her down publicly during this era of her career, whether it constant body shaming or hounds of paparazzi stalking her.

Knightley told the Times that she also found herself “stalked by men” amid her “Pirates” success, and to make matters worse she was told she deserved such behavior. “It’s very brutal to have your privacy taken away in your teenage years, early 20s, and to be put under that scrutiny at a point when you are still growing,” Knightley said. “Having said that, I wouldn’t have the financial stability or the career that I do now without that period.