Taylor Lautner is getting real about the impact of hateful online comments, even for celebrities.
The "Twilight" star took to Instagram May 22, sharing a video response to a social media post's comments saying that Lautner "did not age well."
"I just got back from a run. I was feeling really good about myself, trying to stay healthy both physically and mentally. And I felt compelled to share something with you because when I got back from that run I hopped on Instagram," Lautner says at the start of the video.
The 31-year-old goes on to explain that last week he and his wife, who is also named Taylor Lautner, had been on a show in New York City that had posted about their appearance.
As he was going through the comments under the show's post, Lautner says, "it brought up old feelings and memories" that had led him to avoid reading remarks on the internet in the past. He notes, however, that he's "in a different place now."
Lautner then shares several screenshots with circled comments that showed messages like, "Brooo where is his hair line running off to??? Looks like Ratatouille putting the years on him."
In addition to several other remarks about his hairline, another comment read, "Oooogh not aging well....."
Similarly, another comment read, "He did not age well goodness."
"Damn looks like s---," one read, while another went, "Wait he looks so old wtf happened."
Lautner then appears back on screen to say all the comments were from the same post, which he calls "crazy," adding that "there's only so much we can do to change" the harsh reality.
"But I think what I really wanted to say is, if this was 10 years ago, five years ago, maybe even two, three years ago, that really would have got under my skin and it would have caused me to want to just go in a hole and not go outside, definitely don't do press and interviews and put myself in the position where I have to see that kind of stuff," he says.
Lautner reveals that there was a period in his life when he would avoid going out to any place he could be seen and photographed for the internet. He calls his thinking at the time "really unhealthy," but believes the reason was due to his values being "in the wrong things."
"You find value where you put it," he says. "And if you put your value in what other people think of you, that's how you're going to feel. But if you put your value in you knowing who you are, what's important to you, what you love, that kind of stuff won't get to you."
The actor says he's thankful to now be in the headspace to deal with hateful comments, though some continue to get under his skin, adding that he "wouldn't be on here posting this video if it didn't bother me at all. But it doesn't make me question who I am and it doesn't take anything away from me."
"So I think my biggest point is just think about and remember where you put your value in life, and also just be nice," Lautner concludes. "It's not that difficult. Let's be nice to each other. Let's spread love and positivity. It's that simple."
On a February episode of "The Squeeze," a podcast the actor shares with his wife, Lautner opened up about body image while starring in the "Twilight" films as teen heartthrob Jacob Black.
“When I was in it, when I was 16 through 20 years old, starring in this franchise where my character is known for taking his shirt off every other second, no, I did not know that it was affecting me or going to affect me in the future with body image,” Lautner said then.
“But now looking back at it, of course it did, and of course it is going to.”
Talking to TODAY.com last week, Lautner shared what he would tell his younger self taking on Hollywood.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in that whirlwind of people loving you for the wrong reasons and you yourself valuing the wrong things in yourself,” he said. “It’s something we say all the time on the show — you find value where you put it, and I would just give myself that heads-up: ‘Hey, you know who you are. You know what’s important. The rest doesn’t matter as long as you know you have that.’”
