Zendaya says she felt like an ‘art piece’ during buzzy visit to the Louvre with Tom Holland

‘Oh, I’m also one of these art pieces you’re going to take a picture of,’ Zendaya says about navigating life in the spotlight

Zendaya has opened up about the difficulties of navigating life in the spotlight.

The Euphoria star, 27, recently posed for the cover of both US Vogue and British Vogue for its May 2023 issues. In the wide-ranging interview, Zendaya reflected on balancing her growing stardom with her desires to lead a private life.

The Disney Channel alum recalled when she and boyfriend Tom Holland, who she began dating in July 2021, visited the Louvre in Paris, France, in fall 2022. While the couple was concerned about visiting the museum due to the amount of attention they’d receive, the pair decided to go anyway. Unsurprisingly, Zendaya and Holland were met with crowds of fans sharing photos and videos of them to social media.

“It was actually fine,” the Dune star recounted of their head-turning trip. “You just kind of get used to the fact that: ‘Oh, I’m also one of these art pieces you’re going to take a picture of.’ I just gotta be totally cool with it and just live my life.”

Despite the swarm of fans, Zendaya noted that the Louvre allowed the couple to linger inside the museum after it had closed. “It was one of the coolest experiences ever,” she said, adding: “It was like Night at the Museum.”

As she reflected on growing up in the public eye, Zendaya explained how she always felt obligated to say yes “when someone asks for a picture” with her. Although she acknowledged how grateful she is for her success, the Greatest Showman star has also learned to respect her own boundaries.

“You have to say yes, because you need to be grateful that you’re here,” Zendaya said. “And while I still feel that way, I also have learned that I can say no, and I can say kindly that I’m having a day off, or I’m just trying to be to myself today, and I don’t actually have to perform all the time.”

“Because I don’t necessarily want my kids to have to deal with this,” she added. “And what does my future look like? Am I going to be a public-facing person forever?”

Elsewhere during the interview, the Emmy winner applauded her boyfriend for how “beautifully” he’s handled the transition to stardom following the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017.

“We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight. One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man,” Zendaya said. “I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully.”

Since their first meeting on the set of Spider-Man, Zendaya and Holland have managed to keep much of their relationship private. In July 2021, the couple seemingly confirmed years-long romance rumours after they were pictured kissing in a car in photos obtained by Page Six. The two then sparked engagement speculation when Zendaya was seen wearing a massive diamond ring on Instagram. However, the piece of jewellery ended up being a yellow 21.14 carat ring from Bulgari, which she gifted to herself in 2021.

In December 2022, reports surfaced that the couple were in “settling-down mode” and planning for their future together after a source told US Weekly that the actors seem to have a “serious and permanent” relationship.

“They’re both in settling-down mode and are absolutely planning for a real future together,” the outlet reported.

However, Zendaya’s mother Claire Stoermer seemingly shut down these rumours when she posted a cryptic message about clickbait to her Instagram story. That same year, Zendaya was forced to shut down pregnancy rumours after fans posted prank TikTok videos about her expecting a child, while “Zendaya pregnant” became a trending topic on Twitter.

“See no, this is why I stay off Twitter… Just making stuff up for no reason… weekly,” she wrote on her Instagram Story at the time.