Aubrey Plaza has deactivated her Instagram account following the death of her husband, director and screenwriter Jeff Baena, earlier this month.
Plaza hasn’t commented publicly about Baena’s death by suicide outside of a joint statement from her and Baena’s family to People that reads, “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Though Plaza hadn’t made any new posts since Baena’s passing, comments on her recent posts were flooded with notes of condolences from fans.
X/Twitter comments have been less than comforting, as users on that platform have taken to joking about the stars' loss with trolling messages along the lines of, “Does this mean Aubrey Plaza is single now?” Plaza had deactivated her X account over a year ago.
The White Lotus and Parks and Recreation actress first joined Instagram as research for her character in the 2017 dramedy Ingrid Goes West. The film follows a young woman who copes with the death of her mother by descending further into her Instagram obsession, and moves “west” to befriend her favorite influencer.
Plaza told Dazed of her own Instagram use at the time, “I didn’t have a public Instagram when we were shooting the movie, I just got one a couple of months [before]. I had a private one but I didn’t really use it that much.” She added, “I just decided if my character is obsessed with this then I’m going to be obsessed with it, and I was so obsessed with it when we were shooting.”
After a while though, she noticed her usage of the app went beyond character prep. “It just started to become a part of my life because it’s very addictive. There would just be moments where I wouldn’t even think and I would go on it mindlessly and then I’d realize I didn’t even remember deciding to go on.”
In curbing her own use of the app, Plaza told the site she “tried to not take it so seriously” and “to be really aware of the times I go on it because once I get into a habit of just going on it all the time and not thinking about it, that’s when it starts to get bad.”
She noted that when it comes to her own posts, “I don’t like feeling that every single thing I’m doing is under a microscope.”
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988, or text SAVE to Crisis Text Line on 741741. Visit 988lifeline.org for crisis chat services or for more information.
