Outlander’s Sam Heughan opens up about abuse and harassment

Outlander star Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser) took to social media this week to share a very emotional and personal message. Over the last six years of appearing on the popular Starz show, Heughan has been the victim of bullying and harassment, and now he’s opening up about it. Read his message below:

"After the past 6 years of constant bullying, harassment, stalking and false narrative I am at a loss, upset, hurt, and have to speak out. It’s affecting my life, mental state and is a daily concern. My costars, friends, family, myself, in fact anyone I’m associated with, has been subjected to personal slurs, shaming, abuse, death threats, stalking, sharing of private information and vile, false narrative. I’ve never spoken about it because I believe in humanity and have always hoped these bullies would just go away. I can’t elaborate for ongoing legal reasons but they are professionals: teachers, psychologists, adults should know better.Recently, these false claims vary from me manipulating fans, being a closet-homosexual, trying to mislead or exhort fans for money and disregarding Covid advice. I’ve done none of the above. I’m a normal guy and nothing like the characters I play. Most recently, some of you may know I’m currently self-isolating in Hawaii. I came here before the travel ban. None of us knew how bad things would get but as the situation worsened, upon the advice of everyone I trust, I decided to remain in a safe environment. It was a good decision. I’m safe, isolated, putting no one at risk and am not a burden to the locals. Several telling me they are desperate to sell their produce (as hotels and restaurants are now closed). We have not been asked to leave.I’m nervous to take 3-5 flights back to the UK, around 20 hours on several planes, exposing myself to more danger, to be stuck in a city. This will only increase the risk to others and myself. Recently I was ill for 3 months and am being doubly careful. These bullies have created a false narrative, shared private information and abused my loved ones and I, consistently for the last six years on blogs and SM. I will not entertain it anymore and am blocking anyone that writes anything defamatory or abusive. Sending items or stalking my private accommodation, they have have harassed my work colleagues and constantly tried to hack our email and personal accounts. I’m so hurt by this.As an actor in these times, we feel impotent. We can’t do much but I have tried to use what leverage I have to provide a voice to charities that need it and hopefully a little entertainment or light relief. For those still unhappy I suggest you unfollow. To every fan that has supported me and the work I do, THANK YOU. I’m so grateful, from the bottom of my heart. Stay safe and please be kind to yourself and each other. There’s so much more to concern ourselves with right now. You see around.xx"

Although Heughan doesn’t give us specifics, it’s not hard to picture people making up their own stories about his behavior and using them as an excuse to berate him, or even berate his loved ones and coworkers. For example, people are abusing him about quarantining in Hawaii, even though he went there before the lockdown orders started getting put in place and has plenty of good reasons to remain. I mean, shouldn’t we commend the guy for staying put instead of continuing to travel and put himself and others at risk? Just saying.

Amidst this sad and distressing statement, however, are the Outlander fans that adore and love Sam Heughan more than anything. And it’s what I’d like to focus on, rather than the hate. Many fan accounts have shared their sentiments and voiced their support for Heughan. So much so, that #WeStandWithSam was trending on Twitter.

Despite all the haters out there, Outlander fans have banded together to let Heughan know that he is loved and appreciated. And I won’t lie when I say, reading some of these tweets brought tears to my eyes.

Despite the bullies out there, and the difficult times we are currently facing, it’s nice to see the positive side of humanity come out like this. And I certainly commend Heughan for being courageous enough to share his struggles. As a society, we often forget that actors are people too, and they experience the same pain we do. The difference is that they’re a lot more exposed to potential abuse because they’re in the spotlight.

Kudos to Sam Heughan for speaking out, and to all the Outlander fan accounts and fans across the world that are banding together to share their support.

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h/t Entertainment Weekly