Jonah Hill has announced that he will no longer be involved in promoting his films due to his mental health issues being exacerbated by media appearances and public events.
The 38-year-old actor revealed his plan in an open letter published by Deadline ahead of the debut of his new documentary, Stutz, which he directed. The film is about Hill’s relationship with his therapist, Phil Stutz, whom Hill began seeing in 2017 at the recommendation of fellow actor Joaquin Phoenix. In the film, Hill and his therapist discuss his mental health.
“Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to the conclusion that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public events,” Hill wrote.
He said that the “total purpose” of making Stutz was to “bring therapy and the tools I learned in therapy to a wide audience for private use through an entertaining film.”
Hill said that while he was waiting for audiences to see the film, “you will not see me promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, as I take this important step to protect myself. If I got sicker going out and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or the movie.
“Usually I cringe at letters or statements like this, but I understand that I am one of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I will not lose my job while I work on my anxiety. With this letter and with Stutz, I hope it will be more normal for people to talk and act on these things. So that they can take steps to feel better and so that the people in their lives can understand their problems more clearly.”
Hill’s decision is reminiscent of the one made by tennis player Naomi Osaka a year ago, when she declared that she would not participate in the mandatory press conferences during the 2021 French Open due to questions from journalists affecting her mental health. Since then, Osaka has spoken of hiring a therapist for the first time and has resumed holding some press conferences.
Earlier this week, Spider-Man actor Tom Holland announced that he was stepping away from social media because he found it to be “harmful” to his mental health.
In a video posted to his Instagram account, which has 67 million followers, the 26-year-old said: “I think Instagram and Twitter are overstimulating, overwhelming. I get stuck and spiral when I read things about myself online and it is ultimately very detrimental to my state of mind. So I decided to take a step back and delete the app.”
Other stars like Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello and Demi Lovato have also withdrawn from social networks due to their mental health.
On Sunday, British actor Robert Lindsay, 72. announced that she intended to spend less time on Twitter, after her son told her it was “affecting my daily life, thoughts and imaginations”.
“Of course you’re right and I need to detox from social media stress and focus on what I set out to do three years ago and write,” the My Family actor wrote.
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In Australia, support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 and MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the Mind charity is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on on 0800 1111. In the US, Mental Health America is available at 800-273-8255
