'A lot of you have been mean lately'

Silverchair star Daniel Johns has sparked fears by threatening to quit social media after going on a wild rant about “cruel people”.

The rocker, who was spotted looking shirtless and dishevelled on the streets of Sydney last month, has posted a series of blurry shots, accusing “a lot” of people of being “mean” lately.

“I’m gonna delete this account soon but thanks so much to the nice people!” he captioned one blurred shot of a doll.

“And to the cruel people… it’s been an absolute pressure # there’s something bigger than all of us so love one another like a paper aeroplane that will land in a palm tree.”

“Your appearance and posts are worrisome,” one concerned fan replied. “I can't speak for others but I say it out of true concern and goodwill. I only hope the best for you.”

It comes one day after the star uploaded an exhausted-looking shot of himself and Sydney-based rapper Snob Scrilla, real name Sean Ray, with the caption, “Really real hashtag f**k future.”

And over the festive season, he also Instagrammed shots of himself smoking, along with one of a bottle of champagne alongside an award, and one of him flipping the bird with the caption, “Feeling the love.”

Concerns first started mounting before Christmas, when the former frontman was spotted stumbling through Sydney’s Double Bay with pal Joshua Mullane.

The sighting of the heavily tattooed musician came more than two decades after Silverchair formed, a period during which Daniel has battled anorexia and arthritis, faced a public split from singer Natalie Imbruglia, and witnessed the demise of his band in 2011.

Revealing a rather slim figure during his outing, Daniel was seen wearing nothing but a black jacket and matching trousers.

The array of bold tattoos splashed across his chest was clearly visible to onlookers, and he sported lipstick and smudged eyeliner, as well as platinum blond hair to contrast his dark, rugged beard.

With an arm around fellow musician Joshua, who was clad in a black singlet and trousers, Daniel was seen making his way down a sidewalk after the pair shared some glasses of wine at hotspot Pink Salt.

It is said the duo enjoyed partying at popular venue Mrs Sippy earlier on.

This is certainly not the first time the star has caused worry while out on the streets of Sydney.

In June last year he was spotted sleeping outside his Surry Hills apartment, following a performance at the Sydney Opera House the night before.

Meanwhile a month earlier he had fallen and hit his head outside bar Low 302, with ambulance services called at the time to treat his reported bleeding from the head.

Speaking in an interview with Channel Nine’s Today Show a few weeks later, the musician brushed off the incident which saw him taken away on a stretcher in a neck brace, saying: “It was one of those dumb kind of falls, not a real event”.

The star, who pleaded guilty to a count of-range drink driving in Newcastle in November 2014, famously opened about his battle with an eating disorder back in 2004.

In a candid interview with ABC, the singer revealed he had contemplated suicide after struggling with anorexia as a teenager.

“'I could somehow convince myself that apples contained razorblades and wouldn't go to restaurants because I thought every chef in the world wanted to poison me,” he said in the interview.

“It [food] was just the enemy. I just hated the look of it, the smell of it. If anyone talked about it, I'd leave the room.”

Meanwhile in 2003 he spoke about suffering arthritis, revealing he first noticed severe physical pain in 2001.

"I think that one of the worst things about the arthritis was that I was unable to do my music,” he told The Telegraph.

He also admitted to the publication that he and his brother had “set a date” to “kill ourselves” if the pain didn’t cease.

Daniel gave this candid interview while still engaged to Australian singer and former Neighbours actress Natalie Imbruglia.

The pair announced their engagement in late 2002, and during the 2003 interview he said: "I knew I wanted to marry her when I was ill with the arthritis because she was strong about it all”.

However the couple’s romance was short-lived, with the pair announcing their split in January 2008 after tying the knot in December 2003.

Since then, Daniel has dated Australian model Louise Van der Vorst, as well as fashion designer Estelita Huijer.

His relationship with Louise was made public in July 2008, but after relocating to New York and then coming back to settle in Australia, the pair split in early 2012.

He began dating Estelita in early 2013, though the pair have not appeared on each other’s Instagram accounts in months.

Since Silverchair split in 2011, the star has tried to steer clear of the spotlight.

But last year he made a comeback to the music scene, with his debut solo album titled Talk.

In an interview with The Project at the time, he brushed off the perception that he is a “tortured artist”.

“No I mean I'm definitely not... um... I don't know maybe I'm tortured, but I don't feel like I'm a tortured artist,” he said.

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Formed in 1992, Silverchair also featured Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou, and managed to win 21 ARIAs during its time in the music scene with hits such as Straight Lines and Diorama.

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