Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley quits Instagram over ‘pressure’ of posting to 2.3m

Ridley reportedly received online abuse for a post about US gun violence
Mark Wilkinson23 September 2016
The Weekender

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Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley has revealed she deleted her Instagram account because of the “pressure” of posting to millions of followers.

Ridley, who plays heroine Rey in the rebooted sci-fi franchise, quit the social media site after reportedly receiving online abuse for a post about US gun violence.

At the Student Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Ridley said she had a “lot of growing up to do” and had no immediate plans to return to Instagram.

“I felt a pressure being on it,” she said. “I was like ‘I need to post. Oh my god, it’s been this many days’. It’s actually been kind of nice not to be on it.

Under fire: Daisy Ridley faced abuse for her stance on guns
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

“I’m 24. I have a lot of growing up to do. I have to deal with loads of stuff myself personally. For that to be projected with millions of people watching, that is like a bit of an extra pressure.”

Ridley, who had 2.3 million Instagram followers before leaving the site, was reportedly targeted by trolls after she shared a photo of herself after the 2016 Teen Choice Awards.

She had been joined at the ceremony by teenage relatives of victims of mass shootings in America in Orlando, Newtown and San Bernardino.

In an Instagram post, Ridley wrote: “As I sat in the audience yesterday tears were streaming down my face at the tribute to those that have been lost to gun violence.”

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She signed off with #stopthe violence.

Ridley had previously taken to Instagram to say she would “not apologise” for her body after criticism on social media that she was too thin.

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