Jared Leto doesn’t want to be a role model

Jared Leto insists he isn’t a role model to his fans – and he doesn’t want to be.

The musician and actor thinks that the idea of artists being expected to set standards for their fans is absurd, and insists that he doesn’t feel pressured to behave in a certain way.

He believes that his fans should be inspired by the success he and his brother Shannon Leto have achieved with their band 30 Seconds to Mars, despite the fact they came from a poor upbringing.

“I can do whatever the f**k I want,” he said. “I have no responsibility to uphold an image. I don’t subscribe to the notion the artist is a role model by default.”

“Look to the idea that you could be a poor white-trash kid and along with your brother put one foot in front of the other and make your dream come true. That’s the lesson. It’s not if I failed here and there with my life, or made mistakes. To have to keep secrets would be pointless.”

He also spoke about the good relationship he has with his brother.

“It’s not an Oasis situation, it’s great!” he said. “Me and my brother were just two poor, white-trash kids from Louisiana and clawed our way up the muddy banks of the Mississippi with food stamps in one hand and our instruments in the other.”