Jonah Hill Won’t Promote His Upcoming Movies Because of Anxiety Attacks

Jonah Hill has directed and starred in Stutz, a documentary about his therapist and mental health—but he won’t be hitting the media circuit to promote it. In an open letter published via Deadline, Hill shared the ways his mental health has been negatively impacted by press appearances. “Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to the understanding that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public-facing events,” he wrote.

The Superbad star’s upcoming projects include You People—a Netflix comedy directed by Kenya Barris and costarring Eddie Murphy—and Stutz, which is named for Phil Stutz, the therapist whom Hill began seeing at the recommendation of Joaquin Phoenix in 2017. “I am so grateful that the film will make its world premiere at a prestigious film festival this fall, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences around the world in the hope that it will help those struggling,” Hill wrote, referring to the latter film. “However, you won’t see me out there promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, while I take this important step to protect myself. If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or to the film.”

This isn’t the first time Hill has spoken about the strain that media coverage has put on his mental health. Hill took to Instagram last fall to ask that the public stop commenting on his body, writing that “it’s not helpful and doesn’t feel good.” On Twitter, actor Josh Gad supported Hill’s decision to step away from promotional appearances, writing, “As someone who has dealt with anxiety most of my life, I applaud and thank Jonah Hill for his candor and openness in discussing this difficult topic.”

Hill concluded his letter by writing: “I usually cringe at letters or statements like this, but I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I won’t lose my job while working on my anxiety. With this letter and with Stutz, I’m hoping to make it more normal for people to talk and act on this stuff. So they can take steps towards feeling better and so that the people in their lives might understand their issues more clearly.”