EXCLUSIVE: John Krasinski 'Avoiding Internet at All Costs' After Being Mercilessly Trolled Over Being Crowned 2024's 'Sexiest Man Alive'
The 'Sexiest Man Alive' John Krasinski is a shy guy when it comes to the internet who refuses to read comments about him online because he's scared of what he will discover.
He's shunned social media for two decades after The Office chat rooms "scared the absolute hell" out of him after he shot to fame in the cult TV show, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 45-year-old actor, who played Jim Halpert in the US remake of Ricky Gervais' iconic British sitcom, recalled his early experiences with the idea of people being able to critique however they want on social media.
Krasinski, who has been named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024, confessed: "I remember on The Office, the computers we had [at our desks] were live, and that was the early days of like MySpace and IMDb chat rooms and stuff."
The IF star noted that things are clearly much worse now after social media has become more prevalent since those early days.
He added: "Truly, that scared the absolute hell out of me, those chat rooms in the early days. So I can't imagine where it's gone since."
The A Quiet Place filmmaker has become a huge star from The Office and beyond, and he can still remember the first time he realized his level of fame.
He recalled: "It must have been season two of The Office because iPods had come out and I had no idea what an iPod was. I remember a guy came up to me on the street and he held up an iPod and he said, 'Look, you're on my iPod'.
"And the screen was tiny, and I couldn't see who it was, but it looked a lot like me. And I thought, 'I don't know if that's fame or if that person's going to kill me, but either way, that person knows me and that's a stranger'.
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"So that was that was a big, big moment."
His Instagram account has almost 5M followers and he does not read or reply to comments.
Meanwhile, his actress wife Emily Blunt doesn't even have an Instagram account.
She said she avoids it because she wants a normal life.
"It's about a balance," she has said. "I really am in love with this job, but I'm also in love with my life outside of it."
And her husband has admitted he thought he was being pranked when he was told he'd be receiving People's annual Sexiest Man Alive accolade.
Asked about his reaction, he said: "Just immediate blackout, actually. Zero thoughts. Other than maybe I'm being punked.
"That's not how I wake up, thinking, 'Is this the day that I'll be asked to be Sexiest Man Alive?'"
And it is just as well that he doesn't research himself online because his Sexiest Man Alive accolade wasn't universally applauded by showbiz fans.
Many took to social media to decry him being singled out for the coveted award.
One person whose comment was echoed by many wrote: "Is this for real? Sure the guy's cute but he's just a regular Joe...or a regular John!"
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