Singer Lily Allen has announced that she is taking a break from Twitter after she was subjected to hateful trolling over the weekend about her stillborn son.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 31-year-old became the target of abuse after attempting to highlight prejudice shown towards immigrants and Muslims, by replacing the words "immigrants" and "muslims" with "pensioners" in a series of tweets.
Allen's tweets were met with vitriol from other twitter users, who read her messages literally. Trolls turned on the singer, unleashing a cruel personal attack - including taunts about her mental health.
The hateful abuse prompted Allen to disclose that she experiences PTSD after she lost her son when six months pregnant, as well as postnatal depression and bipolar disorder.
.@johndubskierx I don't hate all pensioners just the extremists.Can't you see this country is being taken over by hate extremist pensioners.— Lily (@lilyallen) February 25, 2017
.@Ged_2345 I DO have mental health issues.Bi-polar,post natal depression, and PTSD, does that make my opinion void.— Lily (@lilyallen) February 25, 2017
As Allen, who is mum to Marnie, 4, and Ethel, 5, disclosed more details about the loss of her son William, in 2010, the abuse escalated.
@Lumix_Trident @Ged_2345 when I lay in a hospital bed with my deceased son stuck between my legs halfway out of my body for 10 hours.— Lily (@lilyallen) February 25, 2017
One tweeter accused her the mother-of-two of lying, while another wrote, "If you didn't pump your body full of drugs you wouldn't have miscarried".
In reply the young mum wrote: "I didn't miscarry, I went into early labour and my son died from his cord wrapped round his neck."
In a since deleted tweet, one user blamed Allen for her baby's death. "The baby knew you were going to be such a horrible mother."
The shocking abuse prompted Allen to advise her nearly 6 million followers that she was taking a twitter break after the "new levels" of vitriol.
My timeline is full of the most disgusting, sexist, misogynistic, racist shit. Really, new levels. I'm no masochist so I'll be back x— Lily (@lilyallen) February 25, 2017
Her account has since been taken over by a friend "Dennis" who advised Lily's followers that he would only be communicating via gifs.
Hi , I'm Dennis,I'll be looking after lily's twitter for a while.I can only communicate in gif form,and I'm going on a hate blocking spree.— Lily (@lilyallen) February 25, 2017
.@BrianBalicki @TrumpDraws (by Dennis) pic.twitter.com/OG1HLXL2DS— Lily (@lilyallen) February 25, 2017
.@Myself03726095 re-read sweetie, where you read pensioner, replace word with migrant/Muslim.Lily trolled you all (Dennis) pic.twitter.com/MKIxRUhYQ8— Lily (@lilyallen) February 26, 2017
Lily briefly popped back online to share that despite reporting the abuse to Twitter, no action had been taken. "Please sort this out, please," she wrote.
.@jack @twitter every time,please sort this out,please. (Lily) pic.twitter.com/6O5FL18utz— Lily (@lilyallen) February 26, 2017
Along with the torrent of abuse, however, Allen has also received an outpouring of support from her followers.
"Please, PLEASE ignore the vile trolls and haters spreading heartache with their toxic words," reads one comment posted to Allen's Instragram account. "You know your intentions and what's in your heart. Whether people are a "Lily Allen" fan or not, it's clear to us that you are passionate about something and want to give a voice to others who cannot be heard. So please ignore the BS and remember why you're doing what you do."
"I have also been thru the horror of a still birth at 6 months," another mum shared. " People are always gonna hate babe, I know you ignore them but it also hurts, I may be a stranger but I know how you feel, always here for you."
