“I have a rule: I just don’t Google myself,” one star shared.
Google can be an incredible resource with the answers to the world’s questions right at your fingertips. But there’s a dark side to the search engine — especially if you decide to type your name into the search bar. While normal people might have a few results pop up, it’s completely different for celebrities who are constantly being discussed online. Going through the thousands of pages of results is bound to bring up more than a few negative comments. While some stars say that they’re able to brush off the haters, most celebs say it’s enough to convince them to never Google their name again.
Find out why these stars don’t search their names…
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1. Miley Cyrus
Back in 2013, Miley Cyrus said she stopped Googling her name after her controversial MTV VMA performance with Robin Thicke. Not knowing the hurtful things people were saying was life-changing for her.
“I refuse to Google myself. The minute I stopped Googling myself, you don’t imagine what a happier person I am,” she said during an interview with Barbara Walters.
Since then, Miley has shared the same advice with her younger sister Noah in the hopes that she doesn’t feel the same pressures of the entertainment industry.
2. Taylor Swift
As one of the biggest stars in the world, Taylor Swift can’t Google herself. In fact, back in 2013, she told Marie Claire that Googling her name was her second biggest fear of all time. As for her other fears, Taylor listed sea urchins and earwigs.
“I don’t Google myself ever. I recommend you not do it either. But my dad does! And he, like, will send me links to things and everyone in a while I’ll see them. And that’s the only way I get my news,” Taylor later shared during NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.
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3. Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez has long been cautious of her social media intake. She occasionally takes long breaks from Instagram and has even deleted the app from her phone. As for Google, Selena says she hasn’t searched her name in a long time.
“Oh, God! I haven’t done that in years. I honestly can’t. I’m strong in a lot of ways, but I think I just have way too much of a sensitive heart,” she told Allure.
4. Johnny Depp
Long before Johnny Depp made headlines for his legal battle with his ex Amber Heard, he made a vow to never Google himself. On top of admittedly being bad with technology, he explained that he just didn’t want to read rumors about himself.
“I’ve never Googled myself and I never will! I would be too scared to discover lies and horrible things written about me,” he told Tele 2 Semaines magazine in 2014.
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5. Emilia Clarke
Emilia Clarke sets some strict rules for herself when it comes to the internet and social media. While she will post on Instagram, she doesn’t look at her tagged photos, and she definitely doesn’t put her name into Google.
“I have a rule: I just don’t Google myself. I’m on social media, but I don’t look at the stuff that other people tag me in because it just [messes] me up. Like, ‘Oh, I’m hideous and fat,’ but then if I don’t read it, you save yourself from finding any haters out there. If you hate me, I don’t need to know,” she told USA Today.
6. Brie Larson
Brie Larson has faced a lot of hateful comments online but she chooses to ignore them by simply not reading what people have to say. Brie admits that she’s never actually Googled herself and has no plans to do so in the future.
“I’ve had a lot of journalists be, like, ‘How often do you Google yourself?’ I’m, like, ‘I’ve never Googled myself,'” she told Variety. “I have genuinely never needed to look at the internet to explain to me who I am. I’m extremely committed to that in my day-to-day life!”
She later added, “When you have a mission and things that you want to do — and my time and my energy is so limited — it just becomes so clear as to what I want to spend it on. And that’s just not what’s of interest to me.”
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7. Kat Dennings
Kat Dennings has told her family that they’re not allowed to Google her name, and she tries to limit how often she does it herself. She says she knows that finding things about herself online can be completely “poisonous.”
“My family — I told them, ‘There will be no Googling. No Googling, Dad,'” Kat told Parade. “I don’t [often] Google myself; it’s a poisonous thing to do. But I consider it a triumph [if I do] and it doesn’t say, ‘Kat Dennings is fat.’ I’m like, ‘This is so great!'”
8. Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts stayed away from social media for a long time, and while she’s on Instagram, she still doesn’t Google herself. She admits she’s too sensitive to find out what negative things people have to say.
“It’s kind of like cotton candy. It looks so appealing and you just can’t resist getting in there, and then you just end up with sticky fingers and it lasted an instant,” Julia told Marie Claire of social media. “I have too much potential for collapse [to Google myself]. There’s an anonymity that makes people feel safe to participate in hatefulness.”
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9. Blake Lively
Blake Lively doesn’t see a point in Googling her name because she knows all there is to know about herself. While discussing the topic back in 2010, she said she viewed the concept as “destructive.”
“Why? I mean, I’m with myself all of the time. Why would I want to see myself on the internet? I can look in the mirror. I think it’s destructive,” Blake told Marie Claire.
10. Brad Pitt
Through the years there have been a lot of rumors that circulate on the internet about Brad Pitt but he completely avoids reading them. Back in 2009, he admitted that he definitely didn’t Google himself and joked that he couldn’t even work a computer.
“Dear God, no. First of all I don’t really know how to operate a computer,” Brad said during an Oscars round table discussion.
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11. Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker says she steers clear of reading anything about herself online, which means she definitely isn’t Googling her name. She added that the online commentary is just too mean and she knows she couldn’t handle it.
“I don’t read anything. I don’t Google myself. Good God, no! I have absolutely no constitution for that. I’m curious about everything, except what people have to say about me,” she told Harper’s Bazaar UK. “It’s the random cruelty I really don’t understand. It’s not good for us. I don’t know, you know, how we go back in time to a better place.”
12. Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung knows the internet can be a complicated place. From staged photos on Instagram to finding out a little too much about an ex’s new flame on Facebook, Alexa admits it’s best to limit her time online. And for celebrities, she says putting their name into the Google search bar can be dangerous.
“You shouldn’t do that. If you’ve ever wondered what people say about you behind your back, that’s one thing. But knowing what they say is a different situation, and is awful,” she told The Cut.
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13. Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny has absolutely no interest in Googling herself. Back in 2013, while discussing how the internet had dubbed her an “It Girl,” she admitted that she didn’t know what people were saying about her.
“It must come up when you Google me or something. I’d rather cut off my pinkie than Google myself,” she told Town & Country magazine.
14. Chrissy Teigen
In 2013, Chrissy Teigen admitted that she had learned that she shouldn’t Google her name. While she shared that she did still read online comments sometimes, she noted that she only really got hurt when someone criticized her cooking skills.
“I learned a long time ago not to Google myself. But I read all the comments on my blog. I don’ really care if people say they don’t like the way I look or something like that,” Chrissy told Vegas Magazine. “But if they say, ‘Who do I think I am offering cooking advice?’ or offering political opinions, then it can really hurt.”
