Cara Delevingne covers W Mag: ‘My earliest memory is of cutting myself’

cara w

Oh, good. I was worried we were going to have to get through the summer without seeing Cara Delevingne roll her eyes through another promotional tour. Cara is gearing up to promote Suicide Squad, so she covers the June/July cover of W Magazine. And because she’s an actress now and not a model, she’s doing her Angry Baby Face in every photo – you can see W’s slideshow here. If Bella Hadid’s one expression is set to “sedated,” Cara’s expression is always set to “sullen.” Anyway, Cara says many words to W Magazine now that she’s an actress! Some highlights:

Wanting to be someone else: “When I was a kid, I always wanted to be other people. I went through different stages: I was a few Spice Girls for a while—first Baby, then Sporty, and then Ginger. I was never Posh, because she wore little black dresses, and I didn’t want to be that kind of girl. Beyond that, I only dreamed of being male superheroes. Spider-Man, especially, had a cool costume and cool toys. There were not many strong superhero-type women, apart from Wonder Woman—but I didn’t want to be a 5-year-old running around in, like, a bikini.”

How she got the part in Suicide Squad: “I met the director, David Ayer, at a hotel in London on a dark and stormy night. He didn’t tell me anything about the movie. Instead, he showed me pictures of these amazing, enlightened, powerful, but very evil women. He spoke to me about addiction and mental illness, which are things I find very, very interesting. The next time I met David was at his house in L.A. He asked me to read a scene from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I love that play and had acted in it at school when I was 17, so I was excited. Somehow, when we were doing the scene, I became livid. I hadn’t felt rage like that in years. And then I got the part! There still wasn’t a script, but David asked me to go and try and find a forest and, if it was a full moon, get naked and walk through the woods with my feet in the mud, which I did. There wasn’t a full moon, but I howled like a wolf. It would have been really funny if someone had seen me.”

Research for Paper Towns: “Growing up in England, I thought everything I saw in American films was fake. I didn’t think New York was a real place! So it was the same with high schools. When we made the movie, I actually got a locker and popped into classes at a real high school. Last year at CinemaCon, I received an award for Paper Towns, which was funny because the movie hadn’t come out yet. I said, “None of you have actually seen me act, but thank you for trusting that I can.”

She’s dark: “I like anything intense. When I was a child, I was obsessed with blood and death. This sounds really dark, but my earliest memory is of cutting myself. I was pretending to shave like my dad. One time, I covered my face in shaving foam, and I got his razor and ran it along the bottom of my finger and nearly cut it off. Do you want to see the scar? It’s barely visible now. But I like knowing that it’s there.”

[From W Magazine]

There’s a lot to unpack. First of all, I wish she had said a bit more about cutting herself, meaning she should have and could have given that a better context instead of saying she was “obsessed with blood and death.” Cutting can be a serious disorder and it’s important to discuss the psychology of cutting, and give it a proper context. I worry that she’s dismissing how serious it is. As for thinking everything in American films was fake… really? She didn’t know that New York was a place that really existed? That seems very sheltered. And as for the director telling her to walk naked through a forest… that seems like an inappropriate suggestion, right?

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Photos courtesy of Mario Sorrenti/W Magazine.

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84 Responses to “Cara Delevingne covers W Mag: ‘My earliest memory is of cutting myself’”

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  1. here or there says:

    Of course she met the director on a dark and stormy night.
    *eye roll*

    • Hadleyb says:

      WHY is she getting parts? She is a horrid actor and I hated her as a model. Just go away.

      • Snazzy says:

        Right? I mean, terrible model, terrible actress, and yet she’s everywhere? I do not understand why this woman is famous. All she is to is is annoying as f**k

      • LadyJane says:

        Poor little rich girl with very connected parents. She is the next generation’s Goop only with less talent and more edge.

      • saras says:

        She is an heiress and tied to royal lines. Most people are connected or already wealthy to get ahead in the industry. Just more money and notoriety on the backs of us plebians: )

      • haley1020 says:

        her films are flopping so she may be out sooner than we think lol

    • Locke Lamora says:

      Is anyone else freaked out by the walking naked in the woods story? The director seems like a creep.

      • LOL says:

        I can’t believe she had to do it.

      • Esmom says:

        I was a little bit at first but then I remembered the lengths that actors/directors sometimes go for their art (i.e., Revenant) and I realized it was probably fairly tame in the HW grand scheme of things. But he does seem sorta creepy.

      • anna says:

        he didn’t suggest they do it together.
        i think it’s a great idea if the objective is to get in touch with your inner sorceress.
        now i know what i’ll be doing this weekend. let it all go and howl in the woods.

      • Carol says:

        It’s just a weird suggestion. Why do it though? I would have said I’ve done it and not do it. Why not just act? But maybe it helps get into character. weird.

      • Uhhhcelebrities says:

        Meh. Frankly, it sounds like bull. I mean, maybe the director said that, but I doubt it. It’s more basic and stereotypical darkness than anything else, which is what leads me to believe that she’s making it up. It sounds more like a story an uncreative person would come up with on-the-spot to be edgy than a real thing.

  2. Sixer says:

    WTF is “that kind of girl”? A black dress implies what, exactly? FFS and all the other assorted interwebz acronyms indicating irritation.

    When you say “there is a lot to unpack”, Kaiser, do you mean that every word that comes out of this annoying woman’s mouth is utter shite and entitlement made life? Cos if so, I agree with you.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Yes. She’s pretty much a mayonaisse sandwich on white bread trying to be an exotic dish.

    • Lindy79 says:

      Yep, and my sister cut her finger with my dads razor as a kid and also has a scar, it doesnt mean she is a dark and tortured soul, just an idiot who tried to shave her finger.
      There may be more she has done and fair enough

      • Belle Epoch says:

        Cut herself… SHAVING? This is so tone deaf it’s incredible. So every little thing she does is IMPORTANT, but people who slice their skin out of anguish are not? I dislike everything about this girl.

      • adriana S says:

        My brother once cut himself “trying to shave his tongue”. Kids man, they do stupid shit. That means absolutely nothing Cara

    • NL says:

      Thank you. Yes. She’s awful.

  3. Greenieweenie says:

    I don’t think she’s dismissing how serious it is. She grew up with a heroin addict for a mother and has her own array of issues including debilitating anxiety, IIRC. She’s talked before about being in so much emotional pain as a child/adolescent that she used to hit her head against the wall to knock herself out. I don’t think she’s uninitiated in self-harm.

    • Locke Lamora says:

      But I think she said she cut herself accidentally while shaving, not on purpose?

      • Tiffany :) says:

        My interpretation is that her memory is of cutting herself, as in the act of making a cut. Not like she’s saying she was a “cutter” at 5 years old.

      • Lucrezia says:

        Yeah, I’m also unsure whether she’s talking about an accidental cut or intentional “cutting”.

        I’m assuming she got distracted or interrupted because it seems like she’s about to make some kind of point and then the story just … ends.

    • BengalCat2000 says:

      I suffer from severe, debilitating anxiety. It rules my life. I feel for her on that one.

      • Cricket says:

        Bengal Cat.. totally agree and also suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks.. I feel for anyone that has to live with it and I don’t think it matters if their family has wealth, regal relations whatever.. that doesn’t make it any less severe. And her mom was an addict so I’m sure she didn’t have the best childhood growing up in her fairy tale castle.. surprises me the judgement she is getting because of the wealth her family had – like that makes a difference and she should suck it up and can’t possibly suffer from anxiety because why? it’s only a disease that affect poor plebs?

      • artpunk44 says:

        BengalCat & Cricket, I relate to both of your experiences as someone with anxiety. Cricket, you make an excellent point that anxiety affects people of diverse social standings. Anxiety is truly insidious and doesn’t care who you are.

      • BengalCat2000 says:

        @cricket & artpunk, I’ve often tried explain to people that even if I had $ and my favorite rock star f*ck, I’d still deal with this shit. It’s impossible to explain to people who don’t have it. I wake up every single day feeling like my world is going to end. I take meds of course, but it’s a lifelong battle and I’m so tired of it. Pot helps a lot, but then I feel judged for that too. I appreciate your support and wish all of you the same peace I’m so desperately trying to find. ☺

    • Patricia says:

      It’s confusing what she said. Did she cut on purpose, and why?
      I also was a cutter when my anxiety disorder had its onset, when I was a young teenager. Cutting is a way to deal with anxiety if you are alone with it, don’t understand what is happening to you, etc. Once you realize that a cut can take the anxiety away even for a minute it can become a compulsion and coping mechanism very quickly. She does sound dismissive of it but that could be because she just isn’t being very clear and explaining herself fully.

      Anyone dealing with cutting, you’re not alone. Get help, reach out. It’s not a real solution to how you are feeling.

      • LOL says:

        It was confusing, but if she did it on purpose it’s because she suffers from depression.

    • Greenieweenie says:

      Yeah, that’s how I read it too. I just don’t think she’s making light of cutting per se, given her background. It seems kinda like she was setting up a longer response and it got cut off.

    • Carol says:

      I think I read somewhere that she really did suffer from cutting. But the example she gave in her interview is not really a good one, since that one seems accidental. She’s talked about her depression before and the ease for her to go to a dark place. I’m glad she’s doing something other than modeling.

  4. Jules says:

    Poor little rich girl has had such a tragic life……………

    • believe says:

      Depression and her mother was a heroin addict. I’m sure it wasn’t easy…

    • Carol says:

      Being rich doesn’t preclude you from having depression. It’s not about having a “bad” attitude or being ungrateful either. It can hit anyone from any socioeconomic level.

      • Jules says:

        I doubt her first memory is of self mutilation. As someone who has suffered from depression, maybe it offends me that others chose to exploit it for 15 minutes of fame.

  5. Alix says:

    Model or actress, she should’ve refused point-blank to wear such a ridiculous get-up on the cover.

  6. Eve says:

    My earliest memory is of eating boogers…*shrugs*

    • Sixer says:

      Eve! My earliest clear memory is having a sulk at a playgroup. Something to do with the dressing up box, but I can only remember the sulk not precisely what caused it!

      How are you? You yourself and country-wise?

      • Eve says:

        I’ve been trying to fight that enemy within. Losing most of the battles though.

        My country…I have no country. I refuse to accept my place of birth as a nation since it doesn’t respect its own Constitution (and that’s all I’m gonna say about the sh*t show that is going on here).

      • Sixer says:

        I’ve been trying to follow what’s going on and thinking of you. Hoping you’re ok on both counts, my lovely.

      • antipodean says:

        Lovely to see you as always Eve. I always miss you when you are not around. Hope you are doing well, and seeing a few stars, not just the mud.

      • Eve says:

        @ Antipodean:

        Thank you, my dear. But don’t waste too much time thinking about me. I’ve survived this far, haven’t I?

        🌷

  7. Lennox says:

    I’ve a feeling she was probably joking about thinking New York wasn’t real…

    • Kate says:

      I think she was just saying she didn’t think the New York as seen in the movies was a real place. New York in the movies is either depicted as gritty and a tough place to be, or as an almost magical place filled with wealthy people who find love at the top of the Empire State Building. In real life it’s kind of in between.

      Her family travelled often, I’m sure she’d been to New York before her modelling career began.

  8. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    Oh dear. Are we going to have a lot of her? Because she seems extra fake to me. I don’t believe much of what she said, or think it’s embellished. She’s trying so hard to be interesting, it makes me cringe.

    • Kate says:

      She seems like a teenager trying on different personas to see which fits. It’s annoying and she makes it hard to feel anything but contempt for her.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        I think we all go through that phase, but maybe a little younger, like 13-14? It’s embarrassing to watch.

    • Esmom says:

      I was just thinking that she didn’t seem that bad compared to the Hadid girls, who seem to have outpaced her in the exposure department.

    • meme says:

      I’m with you. I don’t believe anything she says.

  9. Megan says:

    So dark, edgy and deep. Yeah, whatever, Cara.

  10. believe says:

    I like her. She is so pretty. And she IS a model. She is an actress AND a model.

    • Locke Lamora says:

      I don’t like her, but she is a good model. She photographs really beautifully and she’s the best out of the nepotism models. She’s a horrrible actress though. And pretentious and annoying.

      • Naddie says:

        Agreed. She looks like herself, not like these bunch of undistinguishing blonde models, even if she’s not the prettiest.

    • LannisterForever says:

      I agree. She’s my favorite current supermodel. She blows all the “Instagirls” out of the water.

  11. Jh says:

    B-b-b-boring.

  12. Locke Lamora says:

    I kinda get what she says about thinking American movies are fake. I didn’t think New York was fake, bit American highs schools the way they are portrayed in teen movies? The cliques, the popular people, the cheerleaders, the obsession with sports – none of that exists in our schools. I still think all of it can’t be real.

    • Sixer says:

      Most very small children fail to understand that things exist even if they are not present. It’s just a development thing. I used to think that the Saturday afternoon sports result round-up on TV was like a fantasy league. It didn’t occur to me that the matches had actually taken place – I wasn’t there! This one seems to have grown out of it late, however. Can’t say I’m surprised.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        I thought people on TV could see me the same way I could see them. I used to watch a show called Captain Kangeroo when I was 2 or 3 and I would wave at him each morning. Once I stuck my tongue out at him, then hid behind a chair in shame.

      • Sixer says:

        There are days when I truly love you, GNAT!

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Same here, my friend.

    • Ayra. says:

      That stereotypical portrayal of HS is the truth. I saw so many movies and shows where there were cliques, jocks, popular kids. So I went into high school expecting what I saw portrayed all the time, the bitchy popular kids, the jocks this and that, the separated cafeteria.. I was kind of disappointing when I realised that that wasn’t the case.

  13. aussie says:

    whats interesting is the way she is talking about the self harm

    its always feels she trying to prove something

    hope shes getting actual professional help

    • kim says:

      I agree, it is interesting how she mentions it in sort of a blase manner. However it is unusual for traumatized persons to detach and speak of pain and hurts in a disconnected way — it indicates a coping/defense mechanism. I say this from personal and professional experience.

      It is sad that far too many people are quick to find fault and judge — these are blurbs with a fashion mag — in another context she might disclose more indepth and emotional bases that would shed more light on her psychological makeup.
      Just because she grew up “priviledged” doesn’t mean her trauma and pain isn’t valid.

      Maybe Cara is an eye rolling spoilt brat but she is young and troubled, and I believe she deserves compassion, not flippant and callous dismissiveness. I swear the lack of empathy so many people have towards others struggles and pain is truly disheartening. I wish people would stop perpetuating the negativity, it really is damaging in the way normalizes judgment and disdain. We haven’t walked a mile in her shoes.

    • Anna says:

      She’s just a self-important narcissist drama queen. -.-

  14. “There’s a lot to unpack.” Great line!

    I don’t get why this angry baby model person is a “thing.” It’s been so overdone and she doesn’t do anything ground breaking for anyone to suffer her entitled self.

  15. Talie says:

    Typically I would roll my eyes at how privileged her childhood was…but I know her family was in turmoil for awhile, especially her mother with addiction issues.

    • Tourmaline says:

      Yeah I just recently learned about that–her mother had a major heroin addiction while Cara was a child. Cara’s sister is named Poppy in a tribute to opium! That has to be devastating so I can’t really side-eye Cara for her troubled/troubling statements.

  16. SilkyMalice says:

    There is so much that is disturbing to me in this article. In fact, she sounds just plain disturbed.

  17. Marty says:

    She sounds like Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family movies.

  18. Lolo says:

    Boring people like her because it makes them feel cool and edgy.

    I prefer Bag Girl RiRi myself (:

    This eyebrow troll is has no talent and is a horrible, horrible human.

  19. terese says:

    I can’t say much was here and i was bored to tears honestly. Felt a bit contrived like someone trying to sound interesting. Good luck to her, I haven’t seen enough of her work to say she’s strong actress but boy does she need better personal stories and I completely agree on the cutting, its too serious to be used as depth on your role.

  20. flybaby says:

    How is this movie not out yet? Feels like we have been hearing about it forever already

  21. ClaireB says:

    It is terrible, but my first thought when I read the headline was “Oh, for f**k’s sake.” For me, Cara is just like Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Ray and Kristen Stewart. She might have a worthwhile message, but I am never going to hear it through all the posturing and self-important BS they spew.

  22. Kri says:

    Oh God. Please don’t unpack it. I hope my vision copay is not too steep.pray it covers eye roll srain.

  23. Peep says:

    Lifelong anxiety sufferer and later diagnosed with aspergers and adhd. My earliest memory is picking at my fingers until they bled and getting yelled at by alarmed adults for it.

    I think it’s likely she is a lifelong self harmer and she was trying to say something about this and then chickened out…same with addiction and mental illness being “interesting”. No, they’re not really that interesting at all and horrible to deal with. She’s coming across super tone deaf because she’s scared to identify too closely in public I think.

  24. Naddie says:

    I kinda like her but she sounds like a teenager trying to be “dark”. I have no doubt she’s been through a lot because of her mother, but it doesn’t make her deep. At all. More like a typical party-girl trying to stand out from the other ones.