Lindsay Lohan Says ‘Terrifying Moments’ as a Young Star Influence How She Raises Son

Lindsay Lohan is opening up about a scary time from her youth — and how it affects how she’s raising her 2-year-old son, Luai.

In a candid interview with The Sunday Times, published on Saturday, Aug. 2, the actress opened up about what it was like coming of age in the spotlight in a time of unrestricted paparazzi access and near-constant tabloid scrutiny.

“I don’t ever want my family to experience being chased by the paparazzi the way I was. They were terrifying moments I had in my life — I have PTSD to the extreme from those things. The most invasive situations. Really scary. And I pray stuff like that never comes back. It’s not safe. It’s not fair,” Lohan, 39, told the outlet.

Lohan also said that she and her husband, Bader Shammas, discuss how to best protect Luai’s privacy — as well as how much access they want the media to have to him — “all the time.”

Lohan and Shammas, who were first linked in 2020, wed in July 2022. The pair welcomed their son one year later in July 2023. 

The Freaky Friday actress told The Sunday Times that she thinks the age of social media has helped young celebrities take back their personal narratives and that it allows stars to share themselves with fans on their own terms.

“I feel that it [the paparazzi’s invasion of personal privacy] doesn’t happen as badly now as it did,” she said. “It was way worse when I was younger, but now, because of social media, people can tell their own story in the way that you want it to be told. It has reclaimed the ownership of your life.”

“We didn’t have that,” she continued, before adding, “But what I have learned over time is how to separate my private life and public life, and that was difficult for me because nobody ever teaches you how to do that.”

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And when it comes to fans approaching her out in public? The Mean Girls star told the outlet she’d rather a fan just ask for a photo instead of discreetly attempting to film her on their phone. 

“That’s scary. That feels very uncomfortable,” she explained. “I’d rather someone just ask if they can take a photo, or else you get cautious of every move you make.”

Lohan stars in the upcoming family comedy Freakier Friday, a sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday, alongside Jamie Lee Curtis.

And though it’s been more two decades since the actresses appeared on-screen together, Lohan told The Sunday Times that she and Curtis, 66, have stayed “pretty much consistently in touch” over the years.

“And throughout the years, because my life was so public, she was a safe space for me,” she said.

According to Lohan, it was Curtis who convinced her to come back for the upcoming sequel — even though the initial timing wasn’t quite right.

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“Actually, Jamie mentioned the idea when I was pregnant, and I was like, ‘Well, not right this second,’ ” she recalled to the outlet, before noting that the new movie marks the first time she has ever played a mother on-screen.

“It’s timing. Time is working on my side! Which is great,” Lohan mused.

Freakier Friday will premiere in theaters nationwide on Aug. 8.