The Awful Reason Steve Kazee Quit Instagram
While actor and dancer Jenna Dewan documented her St. Patrick's Day festivities on her March 17, 2021 Instagram stories (via the Daily Mail), her fiance, Broadway star Steve Kazee, was notably absent, having left the social media platform three days prior. Jovially showcasing spring cleaning finds like an old wedding photo of her mom, as well as St. Patrick's Day-themed decorations made with daughter Everly Elizabeth Maiselle, whom she shares with ex-husband Channing Tatum, Dewan's stories struck a stark contrast with the tone of Kazee's Instagram post announcing his departure on March 14.
The Tony and Grammy Award-winner wrote in his goodbye post, "Things slowly changed. The negativity went from one random comment here or there to two, or three. Then... from negative to questionable and now to downright vile." Kazee added that attempting to have a thick skin wasn't enough for him to avoid the bait set by his nonstop waves of internet trolls. "I've let myself be drawn into back and forths and lobbing insults back at those who felt it necessary to try and hurt me in some way. That's not the man I want to be for myself or for my family," his post read. What was the final straw that broke Kazee's back? Read on for the shocking comment that finally caused him to leave Instagram.
An Instagram troll's comment about Steve Kazee's son was the last straw
Steve Kazee, in a lengthy and seemingly last Instagram post, shared that a commenter had told him, "I hope your son dies of COVID." That elicited the curtain call on Kazee's Instagram presence, he announced to his followers on March 17, 2021. "No one can really prepare you for a complete stranger to write [that]. The mind strains to understand the motivation behind that kind of hate," Kazee noted of his bafflement at the random lash-out from the stranger. Kazee also pointed out that his Instagram, being an artist and a family man now that he shares son Callum Michael Rebel with fiancee Jenna Dewan, was to "connect with people and show the things in my life that I love, cherish, create, and that I'm proud of."
Despite sounding firm in his decision to withdraw from the social media world — the Daily Mail noted he deleted his Twitter account as well — Kazee also sounded sad he was going to miss friends and family's Instagram shares of "weddings, babies, birthdays, anniversaries, and memorials." However, a commenter pointed out to Kazee that he could always "set up a private account and add people you genuinely care about," which sounds like pretty healthy advice to us!