Robbie Williams claims a hit man was once hired to kill him

Robbie Williams has claimed a hitman was hired to kill him when he was at the top of his career.

On Sunday (16 January), the 47-year-old English singer told The Mirror that he had “a contract” put on him to “kill” him.

“I’ve never, ever said this, but I had a contract put on me to kill me. I’ve never said that publicly before,” Williams said. “It went away. I have friends. That stuff is the unseen stuff that happens when you become famous.”

The “Life Thru a Lens” singer added that he was “Michael Jackson-style famous” at one point in his life.

“I became famous when I was 17, doing a boy band when I was 16, the boy band took off,” Williams said. “When I was 21, I left, and then I had a solo career, sold 80 million albums, held the record for the most tickets sold in a day for a tour and blah, blah, blah…”

He continued by speaking about his struggle with anxiety and depression due to his “extreme success”.

“Extreme fame and extreme success meets with anxiety and depression and mental illness,” the Brit Award winner said. There’s a few levels of fame and what it does to you. The first one is f***.”

“There’s a couple more I can’t remember but the fourth one is ­acceptance. You sort of rally against your privacy being taken away from you and you rally against it by trying to be normal, trying to be normal but also I’m gonna be small so people don’t beat you up. Like, ‘I’m a d***head, don’t hurt me,’” Williams said.

“I want to go to all the normal places I can’t go because people want to kill me. It takes a while to get to acceptance.”

Williams accepted that he doesn’t like “meeting strangers, but strangers want to meet me, and I feel really uncomfortable about it”.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial

Sign up

“Thinking about it actually gives me anxiety. It’s a trigger,” he said.

In 2020, Williams released a Christmas song about surviving the festive season in the age of coronavirus.

The track, titled “Can’t Stop Christmas”, describes how everyone has had a “miserable year” and that it “feels like we’re at war”.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.