Barry Keoghan hits out at 'deadbeat dad' claims again as he reveals damaging impact

Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan has slammed claims he is a 'deadbeat dad' and 'absent' in his two-year-old son's life as he hit out at social media users 'judging' him

Actor Barry Keoghan has once again slammed claims about the relationship he has with his son.

The Oscar-nominee, 32, shares his two-year-old son Brando with ex-partner Alyson Kierans, a dentist from London. He tends to keep his son away from the spotlight, but has previously claimed people assume he's absent in his life and a "lazy" father. Barry has been open about his own childhood and the impact of his mother's death from a drug addiction.

The Saltburn star slammed negative comments over his own parenting and said he didn't have a "blueprint" to learn off. Last month, Barry revealed how he had been branded an "absent father" and a "deadbeat dad". He said the comments came after not posting as many pictures as he once did of his child.

Barry insisted his son "isn't a talking point" because he doesn't "give the internet what they want". The actor believes it isn't his place to share photos of Brando "in this day and age" with how "sick" the internet can be. "People are so feckin' quick to judge," he told Hunger magazine.

"It can really affect you, but I'm a strong person. I do some therapy. I'm a work in progress. I'm constantly evolving as an actor, as a father, as a human. I'm always trying to grow." Barry and ex Alyson co-parent Brando and announced they were expecting their child months after getting together.

However, the pair split in July 2023 after two and a half years together. Following their split, Barry has been in a high-profile romance with singer Sabrina Carpenter. He recently addressed the claims about his parenting while on Spotify’s The Louis Theroux Podcast. He said: "If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength to have, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Of course, (my childhood is) going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from. People just read that (as) laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse to be an absent father’. I’m not an absent father."

He also expressed his frustration at people using his son as "ammunition", leading him to post less about his child online as he gains more public attention. "Just the audacity of some people, man. It sickens me, makes me furious," he added. "I’ve been off it [social media] because when I’m going through a role, I’m getting into character. I stay away from the internet."

The Banshees Of Inisherin star opened up about the darker side of fame, saying: "But, again, when I’ve got a bit of time, I am a curious being like all of us and you want to know what (people are saying online) especially when it’s slander and when it’s bad comments attacking my appearance or attacking me as a father." He also shared his personal struggles, revealing he's "just trying to make a living, trying to get a good body of work and create safety for my child".

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