OlderFrankie Jonas Struggled with His 'Bonus Jonas' Nickname, Says He Hated It
Frankie Jonas is opening up about how difficult it was to grow up as the younger brother of Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas and why he hated being called the “Bonus Jonas.”
The 20-year-old TikTok star was just seven-years-old when he landed the lead role in the animated movie Ponyo and kicked off a career in the entertainment industry. He says he wasn’t able to enjoy his success though and he contributed that to the nickname he received from the world.
Keep reading to find out what he said…
“I always hated that nickname,” Frankie said in a new interview with Bustle. “A lot of my problem with being in the public eye was that I was seen as this commodified vision of myself.”
Joe Jonas also spoke to the outlet about the nickname.
“I refused to call Frankie ‘Bonus Jonas’ after he opened up to me about how that was hurtful to him,” Joe said. “It completely makes sense, and we’ve had lengthy conversations and apologies behind closed doors that showcased my understanding and respect for his wishes. I think to feel like you are second, third, or fourth best from something is unfair; we are all equals.”
Frankie said that he was 12 when he first downloaded Twitter and searched his name.
“It was all pretty awful things for a 12-year-old to read,” he said. “A lot of it was like, ‘If you ever feel forgotten, remember this guy.’ Or, ‘Frankie Jonas is a talentless sack of sh*t.’”
He added, “It became a form of self-harm to look at these things. Then it became essentially an OCD, like a tic. I couldn’t stop. I checked it every day, and I had to, to feel OK in a way. It really became a serious issue for me. A lot of that perpetuated the idea that I was just this meme. I was this joke, and my entire identity to people was ‘adjacent,’ which really affected myself and the way that I thought about the world and the way I felt about myself.”
Frankie left Hollywood in 2015, but he now has found popularity on TikTok. In a recent video, he got candid about having suicidal thoughts before he got sober.
