Robbie Williams ended up in a “tortuous headlock” when trying to balance fame with his mental health.
The 49-year-old pop star – who shot to fame as a member of Take That in the 1990s and went on to become a massively successful solo artist – has reflected on his rollercoaster career and personal struggles in an upcoming self-titled Netflix documentary as he admitted that he struggled to navigate his mental health and celebrity status simultaneously.
He told The Independent: “As humans, nobody likes looking at photographs of themselves and no one likes hearing their own voice, so if you multiply that by watching yourself suffer with mental illness, breakdowns, alcoholism, depression, [and] agoraphobia, you’re in a tortuous headlock where you’re forced to watch the car crash in slo-mo. It’s alright – it’s gonna work out for me.”
The ‘Rock DJ’ hitmaker went on to add that it can be “very difficult” for others to understand that while he has been handed the “great gift” of fame and fortune, it was also the very thing that was “breaking him” at the same time whilst he was responsible for pulling in so much money for other people as well.
He said: “It’s very difficult for people to understand the psychology of this great gift that has been given to you but yet it’s breaking you. Up to now, mental health was talked about in a different way. It was very confusing for people who went, ‘All he’s gotta do is get up and sing another song. Give him a nudge or else we’ll lose all the money.’
“What should have happened is, ‘Get in a car, we’ll just go get better.’ But it didn’t and it’s okay,’ cause I lived to tell the tale. It makes life’s tapestry richer, I suppose.”
‘Robbie Williams’ will be released on Netflix on November 8.
