Addicted: Celebs Who Tried To Leave Social Media But Failed

Fans have been able to get an inside look into the lives of their favorite celebrities thanks to social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok. Whether they are posting about their new business ventures, red carpet looks, or what they just had for lunch, celebs are some of the most watched people on the internet. However, these platforms have not always been kind to some of the biggest names in Hollywood, with many A-list stars taking much-needed breaks from posting about their day-to-day lives. 

Selena Gomez is just one celeb who quit social media for good. The star hasn't used platforms like Instagram for over 4 years, despite her account, with over 300 million followers, still in full swing. She told "Good Morning America" in April 2022 that she has a team that posts her online content and added, "I am happier. I am more present, I connect more with people. It makes me feel normal." 

Several stars have removed themselves from social media to feel "normal," but as much as they would like to step away from the limelight, not every celeb can totally quit social media like Gomez. In fact, a few celebs have claimed they were never returning to social media, only to jump right back on no less than a day later. Check out the stars below who took a social media cleanse but failed to stay away for good. 

Ed Sheeran's "Divide Tour" was his biggest tour to date when it began in March 2017 in Turin, Italy, and lasted for over two and a half years with its final show on August 26th, 2019, in Ipswich, England. Sheeran's tour was record-breaking; Pollstar reported that it became the highest-grossing tour of all time with total sales of over $730 million, beating out a record that was long held by U2. 

In December 2019, Sheeran told his Instagram followers that he was stepping away from social media after his tour was officially over. Needing a much deserved break, he shared, "Hello all. Gonna go on another break again. The Divide era and tour changed my life in so many ways, but now it's all over it's time to go out and see some more of the world. ... I'll be off all social media until it's time to come back." 

Sheeran made his return to Instagram on September 1st, 2020, and announced the birth of his daughter, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. This also wasn't the first time the "Bad Habits" singer took a break from social media. According to ET, Sheeran had also logged off back in 2015 after the end of his "x Tour." He shared, "Hello all. I'm taking a break from my phone, emails and all social media for a while ... I find myself seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes..." He returned in December 2016 and teased fans with new music. 

In some ways, celebrities are just like us. When a star suffers a tragic loss in their family, they may log off of social media to spend time with loved ones. That's what happened to "Dancing With the Stars" professional dancer Cheryl Burke, who, after losing her father in March 2018, took a step back from platforms like Instagram to mourn her loss. 

In an Instagram post, Burke told her fans, "I'm dealing with some personal things right now and need to take a break from social media. Thanks for understanding and remember to tell the people who are important to you just how much you love them each and everyday." However, Burke's social media break was not for long, and she posted photos of her father a few days later. The "Dance Moms" star shared a photo of herself as a little girl hugging her dad and touchingly wrote, "Dad, If I had one more chance to have you here with me today, I would do things differently. Every day I would tell you how much I love you. I miss you so much already." Another photo showed her dancing with her father. 

In 2012, Burke explained on Bethenny Frankel's talk show that she was estranged from her father. However, after he was involved in an accident, they reunited. "I have a wonderful stepfather who has been my father, but it was really important for me just to reach out to my dad. Just for me and just to have some closure if anything really were to happen," she shared.

Kendall Jenner shocked her social media followers when she deleted her Instagram account in November 2016. As one of the most followed models and reality stars on the planet, the news made headlines, but for Jenner, going offline was something she needed for the sake of her health. During an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," she shared the reasoning behind her social media hiatus. 

Jenner said, "I felt like I just wanted a little bit of a break. ... I would wake up in the morning and I would look at it first thing. I would go to bed and it was the last thing I would look at. I felt a little too dependent on it so I wanted to take a minute. It's a detox." According to People, the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star returned to Instagram a week later after posting photos of her friends as well as a photo of herself at a concert. 

Jenner has been extremely open about her mental health and her experiences with anxiety. For Vogue's video series "Open Minded," the model was candid about the downsides of social media. "I find that the more I'm looking at a screen the more detached I feel with my own body or to like what's happening right in front of me. My relationship with social media is, you know, is a bit addictive right now, which I don't like and I'm not proud to say that, but I also feel like that's something that probably most of us can relate to," she shared. 

Justin Bieber had enough of social media when his fans appeared to be jealous of the multiple photos he posted on Instagram with then-girlfriend Sofia Richie. According to Us Weekly, Richie and the "Baby" hitmaker had a brief romance that began in August 2016, but it set off a firestorm with Beliebers who were not fans of his new beau. 

Bieber posted a photo with Richie and wrote, "I'm gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don't stop the hate this is getting out of hand, if you guys are really fans you wouldn't be so mean to people that I like." Rolling Stone reported that before ultimately deactivating his account on August 16th, Bieber's ex, Selena Gomez, chimed in on the matter and in the comments section wrote, "If you can't handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol – it should be special between you two only. Don't be mad at your fans. They love you." 

A feud sparked between the exes, with Bieber writing, "It's funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love." Per Rolling Stone, Gomez added, "Funny how the ones that cheated multiple times, are pointing the finger at the ones that were forgiving and supportive, no wonder fans are mad. Sad. All love." Bieber reactivated his account two weeks later, but told fans on Twitter, "Still no Instagram it was an accident." He was officially back on Instagram on February 3rd, 2017, with a T-mobile ad. 

Actor and comedian Leslie Jones quit Twitter in July 2016 after an outpouring of racist and hateful tweets aimed at the star and her appearance. ABC News reported that the negative comments stemmed from her film "Ghostbusters," a remake of the classic film, which had a female-led cast.  

While the movie received a bombardment of backlash from fans of the original "Ghostbusters" movie after the casting of Jones and fellow comedians Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon, Twitter users took aim at Jones specifically. She tweeted, "I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart. All this cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the s*** I got today...wrong." In her series of tweets she also added, "I feel like I'm in a personal hell. I didn't do anything to deserve this. It's just too much. It shouldn't be like this. So hurt right now."

However, Jones didn't let Internet trolls get to her for too long. ABC News reported that the actor returned to Twitter two days later and was back to her comedic self by tweeting, "Welp...a b**** thought she could stay away. But who else is gonna live tweet Game of Thrones!!"

Miley Cyrus is known for reinventing herself ever since she left her Disney days behind her. Since the release of her 2020 album "Plastic Hearts," the songstress has taken a rock and roll approach to her music and fashion style. In July 2018, she took extreme measures to let fans know there was a whole new Cyrus in the making after she deleted her Instagram account and all the photos that accompanied it, per Glamour. 

Fans initially believed Cyrus removed her Instagram because she and her then-fiance actor Liam Hemsworth, had split. However, Glamour reported that Hemsworth still had photos of the singer on his Instagram. Proving any break-up rumors wrong at the time, a source clarified to ET, "Miley says she simply likes to change things up! She is taking a long needed break and she feels it's healthy."

Cyrus came back to Instagram on November 30th, 2018, and released her song and its accompanying music video, "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart." The very next month, Cyrus and Hemsworth tied the knot, but after just eight months of marriage, the couple separated, per People. 

Actor Daisy Ridley said farewell to Instagram and her many followers in 2016 after she was criticized over comments about gun violence. People reported that the actor shared in a post that she was touched by a tribute done by the Teen Choice Awards for victims of gun violence. However, Instagram users soon called her out, especially since she starred in "Star Wars," which contained heavy violence. 

Ridley had reactivated her account to tell her fans that she wanted less screen time, but she would later tell Glamour in an interview about her decision to remove herself from the app, "I was on Instagram, trying to do the whole thing, and people weren't very nice. I posted a thing about gun regulations, because I was at an event in tribute to the Orlando shooting at Pulse. People weren't nice about how I looked. And I was like, 'I'm out.' Simple as that. That is not what I signed up for.'"

The "Ophelia" actor did return to Instagram, but it took her six years to come back to the platform. Her first post since deleting her account was on April 4th, 2022, and was a photo of her sipping tea with a caption that read, "Coming out of social media hibernation refreshed, recharged, and ready for what I'm calling my 'Year of Yes.' (And that's the tea.)"

Chrissy Teigen has been known as the unofficial Queen of Twitter thanks to her witty and hilarious tweets, brutal comebacks, and complete honesty. So it came as a shock when she told her over 13 million Twitter followers in March 2021 that she was backing off from her account, stating that it "no longer serves me positively." 

In a series of tweets dated March 24th, 2021, Teigen wrote that she was "deeply bruised" from her time online and added, "I have made my mistakes, throughout the years and in front of hundreds of thousands, and been held accountable for them. I've learned an incredible amount here. ... But one thing I haven't learned is how to block out the negativity." However, it didn't take the model long to return to her much beloved Twitter account and on April 16th, 2021, she tweeted, "turns out it feels TERRIBLE to silence yourself and also no longer enjoy belly chuckles randomly throughout the day and also lose like 2000 friends at once lol."

A month later, Teigen took to Twitter to publicly apologize to model Courtney Stodden for allegedly bullying her online. This ultimately led others to come forward to accuse Teigen of further bullying. "Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bulls*** in front of the entire world. I'm mortified and sad at who I used to be. ... I'm so sorry, Courtney. I hope you can heal knowing how deeply sorry I am," she wrote. Teigen didn't return to Twitter until June, with an apology letter to all those she bullied. 

Pete Davidson returned to Instagram in February 2022, and it made headlines because not only was he dating Kim Kardashian; her ex, Kanye (now known as Ye) West, was publicly bashing him on social media. Was Davidson about to come after the rapper with his own social media posts?

Life & Style reported that Davidson returned to the app on February 16th and followed girlfriend Kim Kardashian and Marvel actor Sebastian Stan. According to Page Six, his first post was an Instagram Story featuring a clip from the movie "The King of Comedy" where actor Robert De Niro states, "Better to be a king for a night than a schmuck for a lifetime." Fans believed this was Davidson finally getting back at West after the rapper had dragged the comedian several times on social media. Davidson also posted on his grid for the first time and shared a clip of his film "The Home."

Just a week after logging back on to Instagram, Davidson deleted his account. He's previously deleted his account and logged back on several times, sharing on a July 2018 Instagram Story, "the internet is an evil place and it doesn't make me feel good" (via Us Weekly). West, who has harassed Davidson and referred to him as "Skete," claimed in a since-deleted Instagram post, "Ran Skete off the gram..." (via the Independent).

In April 2010, John Mayer hinted at disabling his Twitter account when he shared at an Expo (via E! News), "Every night I think about cancelling my Twitter account because I think it's pretty much done. I just think Twitter as a form of communication, I think it's over, to be honest with you." In September of that year, Mayer deleted his Twitter and left behind millions of followers with a final tweet that read, "What does this button do?" per NBC New York. 

In 2011, speaking at Berklee College of Music, Mayer further explained his reasoning for saying farewell to Twitter and called himself a "tweetaholic." "I had four million Twitter followers, and I was always writing on it. And I stopped using Twitter as an outlet and I started using Twitter as the instrument to riff on, and it started to make my mind smaller and smaller and smaller. And I couldn't write a song," he shared (via Rolling Stone). 

Mayer returned to Twitter in January 2014 and tweeted, "I'm back. What'd I miss?" He also jokingly shared a YouTube link to Rebecca Black's 2011 song, "Friday," stating, "Been waiting SO long to share this with you. It's so bad it's good. Take a look."

On June 20th, 2016, Demi Lovato announced that they were leaving Twitter and Instagram for good, but without a real explanation. According to Us Weekly, the singer may have said goodbye to the apps after throwing shade at Mariah Carey. 

A few days before Lovato left the platforms, the singer defended Ariana Grande when an Instagram account claimed that the "Thank U, Next" singer was a knock-off version of Mariah Carey. Underneath their post, Lovato commented with, "You got it the wrong way around honey." According to ET, she had also defended Jennifer Lopez, who has had an ongoing feud with Carey, and added, "Mariah is a legend and is so talented but consistently disses people." 

Days later, Lovato tweeted, "Damn I gotta quit sayin s***. Bye Twitter." After, Lovato sent out a series of tweets stating that fans could add her Snapchat because "I don't have to see what some of y'all say." They added, "But why do people actually give a f*** what I say??" The singer wasn't gone for long, and in less than a day, Lovato was back on Twitter, telling fans, "F*** this ... I'm back b*****. And I'm coming back more honest than ever."

Celebrities are often the main targets of hateful messages across social media, and these negative comments have led some stars to leave Instagram and Twitter for periods of time. Fifth Harmony's Normani Kordei took a break from social media when she became a victim of racist internet trolls on Twitter, and she didn't return until a month later. 

On August 6th, 2016, Kordei penned a letter to her fans that read that she was leaving Twitter due to the endless amounts of "racially charged" comments she read about her. She wrote, "I am taking a break from Twitter for now. Over the past four years of being in the public eye I've learned to grow a thick skin to critics and those who may not like me. I've never been one to deny anyone of their opinions, but over the course of this last week and especially over the last 48 hours I've not just been cyber bullied, I've been racially cyber bullied with tweets and pictures so horrific and racially charged that I can't subject myself any longer to the hate." 

According to Billboard, Kordei was bombarded with negative comments after she struggled to come up with one word to describe fellow girl group member Camila Cabello in a Facebook interview with Galore. While she called Ally Brooke "sunshine," Dinah Jane the "turn-up queen," and Lauren Jauregui the "therapist" of the group, Kordei paused before stating that Cabello was "quirky" and "cute." However, Kordei returned to Twitter on September 13th, 2016, to share that she was working with the non-profit The Cybersmile Foundation, which helps those who have experienced online bullying. 

When Instagram announced that they had "briefly disabled" Rihanna's Instagram, the songstress and Fenty Beauty owner didn't immediately jump back on the platform. After posting a photo clapping back at the app, fans didn't see any posts from RiRi for some time. 

E! News reported that Instagram had accidentally disabled Rihanna's account, with the social media platform claiming, "This account was mistakenly caught in one of our automated systems and very briefly disabled. We apologize for any inconvenience." However, her account became disabled after Rihanna posted nude photos of herself for French magazine Lui, per Vulture. Instagram deleted her racy photos. The singer poked fun at the app when she posted a photo of herself in a more old-fashioned outfit with the caption, "Rih's next magazine cover if it was up to Instagram" (via MTV News). 

Rihanna stepped away from Instagram for six months, but the "Diamonds" singer and Instagram appeared to make amends when she returned. The star posted a selfie and captioned it, "Hellurrr #badgalback." She then shared a cartoon drawing that showed a stick-figured Rihanna holding hands with Instagram. However, her Lui photos were nowhere to be seen on her grid. 

Kim Kardashian suffered a horrific ordeal in October 2016 when she was robbed at gunpoint while in her apartment at the No Address Hotel in Paris, France. According to Intelligencer, robbers restrained Kardashian and took millions of dollars worth of jewelry. It appeared that the robbers had been following Kardashian's moves days before the robbery, keeping an eye on her many social media accounts, with Kardashian posting photos of her location on Snapchat just hours before the scary encounter. 

Kardashian is known for her social media presence on multiple platforms, but after the robbery, the reality star kept a low profile, with People reporting that she refrained from posting anything on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat for three months. Talking about how robbers must have known about her whereabouts that night on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," she said (via People), "What I think happened now after like thinking about it so much is that there was probably a group of guys that were following us the entire trip." 

According to E! News, Kardashian returned to Instagram after posting a photo of her family on January 3rd, 2017. The photo showed Kardashian with ex-husband Ye West, their daughter North, and their son Saint while standing outside on a patio.