Albert L. OrtegaGetty Images
Sam Heughan, who plays lead Jamie Fraser on the Starz series Outlander, shared on his Twitter account Friday that, for the past six years, he has been subjected to “constant bullying, harassment, stalking, and false narrative.”
The Scottish star added that until now he has been quiet about the stalking, which has apparently gone on since 2014, the year his show first aired. He wrote that it’s “affecting [his] life, mental state and is a daily concern.” He went on: “I can’t elaborate for ongoing legal reasons, but they are professionals: teachers, psychologists, adults who 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 non [sic] of the above. I’m a normal guy and nothing like the characters I play.”
Heughan, who has been self-isolating in Hawaii, said that people have been criticizing him online for choosing to stay where he is instead of going home to the U.K.
“I came here before the travel ban,” he wrote. “Non [sic] 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.”
On April 23, Hawaii’s governor, David Ige, issued a stay-at-home order for residents from March 25 through April 30. Officials are discussing lifting stay-at-home orders in the state as early as May, but they warn that strict social-distancing practices would still have to remain in effect.
Heughan added that he doesn’t want to put himself or others at risk by taking three-to-five flights back home and spending about 20 hours on planes.
“Recently I was ill for 3 months and am being double careful,” he continued. He said that his bullies have “shared private information and abused [his] loved ones.” He added, “I will not entertain it anymore and am blocking anyone that writes anything defamatory or abusive.”
