Jonah Hill Announces Break From Promoting Films Due to Anxiety Ahead of Mental Health Documentary ‘Stutz’ Premiere

Celebrities, they’re just like us! They have crippling anxiety, too! Seriously, though, mental health struggles are no laughing matter, and we commiserate with anyone who suffers from them. We also really appreciate when famous people come forward and share their experiences with mental illness so that we feel less alone and the overall stigma of mental illness will someday be reduced. The latest celeb to own up to their mental health challenges is Jonah Hill.

The Superbad star recently announced he’s stepping back from any promotional activities related to his film work due to anxiety. This comes at an auspicious time for the actor, who is preparing to release a documentary he directed and stars in called Stutz, which focuses on mental health through the lens of Hill and his therapist.

“The whole purpose of making this film is to give therapy and the tools I’ve learned in therapy to a wide audience for private use through an entertaining film,” Hill wrote in a statement released exclusively to Deadline. “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.”

Stutz is set to premiere at an unnamed “prestigious film festival” this fall, but Hill warned, “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.”

Hill also acknowledged that he is in a unique position, because many fellow anxiety sufferers don’t have the luxury to turn down professional commitments in order to preserve their mental health.

“I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off,” he wrote. “I won’t lose my job while working on my anxiety.”

(Must be nice.)

Jonah Hill hopes that by speaking out, and releasing the film, it will be “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.”

Stutz isn’t the only film he’s abstaining from promoting. He’s also passing on promotion of You People, a Netflix comedy that he co-stars in with director Kenya Barris, with whom he co-wrote the script. Hill also produced the flick.

You gotta do what you gotta do, man. We’re just glad Johah Hill is still up for entertaining the masses and hope he continues to do so despite the mental health challenges he faces. Here’s to destigmatizing anxiety and all forms of mental illness, one celebrity at a time! Maybe one day us everyday folk can afford to take a few days off from the daily grind to care for ourselves, too.

Cover Photo: NBC (Getty Images)