Off Campus‘ Belmont Cameli made a rare comment about seeing false rumors about himself after some fans claimed he was in a feud with costar Ella Bright.
“Being an actor, everybody has something to say about your performance, but then they also have everything to say about what’s happening in your personal life, too,” Cameli, 28, said in a joint interview with Macklin Celebrini for The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, September 10.
Cameli called the attention “all new and kind of strange.”
“Look, if you’re a fan of the show — the thing that I’m so proud of and pour my heart and soul into — then that’s f***ing awesome,” he said. “But the way our show popped, there’s another level to fandom these days, especially with the internet.”
The actor addressed the worst parts of fame, adding, “Sometimes there’s a real venom to the way people put you under microscopes. You feel constantly observed.”
He continued: “I’ve been pretty good with handling that. You can say whatever you want about me or people in my life, but it’s not going to affect me because I’m fully aware of what my reality looks like and feels like.”
Despite the challenges of life in the spotlight, Cameli referred to it as “all noise.”
“A lot of people have really nice things to say, and a lot of people have mean things to say. To me, it’s just all noise,” he shared. “When I see people out, and they come up to say they love the show, that’s always really enjoyable. It doesn’t always go that way.”
Cameli concluded: “I’m really protective of making sure that the choices I make, the things that I do and the people I surround myself with are things that serve me.”
Cameli and Bright, 19, originally formed a friendship while filming season 1 of Off Campus.
“Doing a job like this would be so miserable if you didn’t like your costar,” Cameli exclusively told Us in May. “We are so lucky. Ella and I are really, really good friends. We get along so well and we spend a ton of time together on set.”
Bright was just as grateful to have Cameli as her onscreen love interest.
“Honestly, we just have so much fun. It’s so cool to be able to go on this journey with everybody who just cares so much about this show and these characters,” she added at the time. “Everyone is here for the same reason. It definitely loosens the pressure a lot, because you’re sharing it with all these really great and talented people.”
Amid production on season 2, unsubstantiated rumors spread online about a falling out between Bright and Cameli. Earlier this year, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Cameli appeared to delete — or archive — multiple posts from his Instagram grid, many of which included photos of Bright.
Bright and Cameli shared a new message for fans amid speculation.
“We just wanted to say that we have been so overwhelmed by the response to the first season,” Cameli said in a new clip shared by Prime Video earlier this week while standing next to Bright. “You guys made it what it is and we genuinely cannot thank you enough.”
Bright, for her part, confirmed the show is currently filming, adding, “We’re back filming season 2 right now and we cannot wait for you to see what’s coming. Trust us, it is going to be worth the wait.”
