Ian Somerhalder felt "disgusted and frustrated" by the behaviour of some Vampire Diaries fans

Ian told I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries: "I was the biggest Delena fan ever until I realised that the fandom had the ability to turn on people and become really, really mean.

"I was like, 'Wait, whoa whoa, this is a fictional show with fictional characters, we can't be mean to other people for real.' It did change my appreciation of fandom.

"I don't like people being mean to one another. It's a toxic cancer to society."

Ian admitted that online bickering between fans made him feel "disgusted and frustrated by how dark the fandom could get".

The actor added: "We just wanted to tell a really deep, heartfelt story, so I learned a lot about society.

"It's one of the reasons that I left the television business and became an entrepreneur."

Meanwhile, it recently emerged that Ian wanted to quit The Vampire Diaries after season three of the show.

The actor admitted that he became disillusioned with the direction of his character after season three.

He told I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries: "I was so upset about the trajectory of Damon, so much so that at one point I was sitting across from Julie [Plec, the show's creator] in her office in Atlanta almost in tears - actually, my eyes were quite misty - and asked out of the show.

"I was so angry about it. I wanted off. Because I saw the writing on the wall. Damon was heading toward the love-interest role."

However, Julie did her best to calm Ian's fears and to encourage him to commit to the show.

Ian said: "Julie was like, 'You're not leaving the show. First of all, you're one of the stars and one of the parts of the beating heart of the show; and two, you signed a six-year contract, so that's not happening; and three, don't worry, there has to be layers.'"