Social Media Blackout: Celebrities Who Cancelled Their Accounts In 2018 And Why
April 1 2019, Updated 2:05 p.m. ET
Everyone needs a good detox from social media from time to time. Whether they stay away for just a day or for an entire year the rich and famous are no different to anyone else when it comes to social media. The celebrities who cancelled their accounts in 2018 left fans breathless waiting for their return.
MORE: Pete Davidson Posts Scary Cry For Help, Doesn’t ‘Want To Be On This Earth Anymore
Some celebrities who cancelled their accounts in 2018 were completely bullied away. Others just “wanted to be present.” Can you guess which Netflix newbie left social media after her account was hacked? Or do you know which pop-star left social media (again) because she was "fed up with fame"?
MORE: Kanye West Goes On Bizarre Social Media Rant Wanting 13th Amendment Abolished
Whatever the reason RadarOnline.com Online has the list of who left social media and how long they managed to stay away from posting their selfies.
Kanye West
When: January & March
Why: West has been deleting and reactivating his social media account for years ever since his mental health issues arose. The rapper started the year with a break from social media only to pop back on just in time for Valentine’s Day. Then he jumped off and on for the remainder of the year.
How Long Was He Gone: It’s an on-again, off-again relationship.
Amber Rose
When: March
Why: The feminist quit social media and deleted all images from her Instagram account after her breakup from rapper 21 Savage.
How Long Was She Gone: Her 18 million followers didn’t have to wait too long. Her declared “one month hiatus” turned out to be two weeks.
Kendall Jenner
When: March
Why: In late 2017 Jenner wrote a letter to fans explaining that she was quitting the app … or she at least wasn’t going to update her account in 2018. “As I look ahead to the next year, my goals and priorities are changing. I’ve had an incredible 2+ years connecting with all of you, but I’ve made the difficult decision to no longer update my app in 2018. I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey as much as I have, and ma looking forward to sharing the next chapter with you. Love, Kendall.”
How long Was She Gone: Fans didn’t have to worry. The model was named the most followed model on social media ranking in 100 million followers and quickly returned.
Miley Cyrus
When: June
Why: Cyrus had fans wondering if she was going to release a surprise album or reveal news of her breakup from Liam Hemsworth after she deleted all images on her Instagram account. Yet, an insider told ET that it was nothing of the sort. The sultry songstress just needed a change and decided that cleaning out her account was the way to go.
How Long It Lasted: In November she returned teasing new music to her fans.
Cardi B
When: May
Why: Fellow rapper Azealia Banks used the Internet to ignite a fire against Cardi B by calling her a “caricature of a black woman.” There was a nasty back-and-forth battle until Cardi B simply deleted her Instagram account.
How Long Was She Gone: One week. The star quickly returned with her fiery tongue to begin other feuds.
Ariana Grande
When: October
Why: It was a breakout year for the Sweetener singer as far as her career was concerned. But when it came to her relationships Grande found the constant attacks from Internet trolls to be too much. She posted an Instagram message saying that she had decide that it was time to “say bye bye again to the Internet for just a lil bit.”
How Long Was She Gone: Did she really leave though? The now deleted post seemed to have been more of a prank as the “Thank U Next” singer was active on Instagram promoting her latests singles. Although, since then, comments were deactivated.
Kylie Jenner
When: January 2018
Why: January 2018 was a sad month for Kylie Jenner fans who noticed that her social media pages had been unusually quiet since the summer of 2017. The beauty mogul eventually returned to social media announcing that she had given birth to her daughter, Stormi.
How Long She Was Gone: Nine months.
Pete Davidson
When: July
Why: Following negative comments about his romance with Ariana Grande, Davidson deleted his Instagram account. When fans speculated that the SNL star was having relationship trouble Davidson let Instagram fans know, “I just don’t wanna be on Instagram anymore. Or any social media platform. The Internet is an evil place it doesn’t make me feel good.”
How Long Was He Gone: He returned to Twitter a week later.
Taylor Swift
When: Technically she had deleted it in 2017, but remained off of social media in 2018.
Why: It was most likely a marketing ploy as she did return to social media just in time for the release of her album Reputation.
How Long Was She Gone: A whole year!
Blake Lively
When: April
Why: It was a short lived hiatus from social media for Lively. The actress used the stunt of deleting her pictures and unfollowing everyone to promote her film A Simple Favor.
How Long Was She Gone: It was less than a month before Lively was back on to show that it was all just a gimmick to get fans to watch her new film.
Millie Bobby Brown
When: June
Why: Sadly the Stranger Things star had to step away from Twitter after her account was hacked by trolls who photoshopped her onto images that had “anti-LGBT+” messages.
How Long Was She Gone: The teenage starlet remained off through the end of 2018.
Selena Gomez
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
When: September
Why: In 2018 Selena Gomez had the most popular account on Instagram. Yet her 143 million followers got the shock of the month when she announced that she was quitting social media to “take a break to live in the moment.” She also gave a warning to trolls before she left that “negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings.”
How Long Was She Gone: In mid-January 2019 Gomez returned, posting "It’s been awhile since you have heard from me, but I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and to thank you for your love and support. Last year was definitely a year of self-reflection, challenges and growth ... "
Ruby Rose
When: August
Why: Fans expressed their outrage over CW’s decision to cast the actress as Batwoman who was reintroduced into the comics as a Jewish lesbian. For some reason fans didn’t think that Rose was an appropriate portrayal of this sort of diversity. Before deleting her account Rose gave one last snarky comment, “where on Earth did ‘Ruby is not a lesbian therefore she can’t be Batwoman’ come from — has to be the funniest most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. I came out at 12? And have for the past 5 years had to deal with ‘she’s too gay’ how do y’all flip it like that? I didn’t change. I wish we would all support each other and our journeys.”
How Long Was She Gone: She quit only Twitter and has been off it since August 2018.
Demi Lovato
When: August
Why: Sadly it was her stint in rehab following an overdose that had Demi Lovato leave social media.
How Long He Was Gone: In November Lovato broke her silence and urged her fans to go out and vote in the midterm elections. “I am so grateful to be home in time to vote!” She wrote along with a pic of her at the polling station.
Kelly Marie Tran
When: August
Why: Racist fans harassed Kelly Marie Tran to the point of deleting her Instagram account toward the end of the summer. The actress played Rose Rico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. However, not every fan was excited by her character and the abusive comments appeared to have rubbed the actress the wrong way.
How Long Was She Gone: Tran is still off the site.
