douglas henshall shetland s7© Photo: BBC

Shetland star Douglas Henshall issues statement after 'extraordinary amount' of online abuse

The actor addressed his Twitter followers

TV and film writer
September 25, 2022

Shetland star Douglas Henshall has issued a statement to his Twitter followers after receiving an "extraordinary amount" of online abuse in recent weeks.

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The actor, who is known for playing DI Jimmy Perez in the BBC detective drama, took to the social media platform on Saturday.  

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He wrote: "I've taken quite an extraordinary amount of abuse over the last couple of weeks and I haven't [expletive] or whined about any of it. 

"However there are no free passes anymore. If you want to come for me, fine, but you're going to get a little bit of pushback from here on in."

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Fans took to the comments section to share messages of support for the star. One person wrote: "I agree you have taken a lot of undeserved abuse, so I love the way you are standing up for yourself. If people don't like your comments all they have to do is to ignore them or unfollow... easy as," while another added: "Exactly, don't give it if you can't take it. I think you have handled yourself brilliant but there is only so much anyone can take. If people want to take shots they should accept the consequences."

© Photo: BBC

Douglas is known for playing DI Jimmy Perez in Shetland

A third commented: "Truly sorry for the abuse you've been getting. Like others have said, just block every one of them. Takes time sometimes but very satisfying."

The tweet comes almost a week after the 56-year-old was criticised for a tweet he wrote that suggested that the Queen's coffin was empty ahead of the late monarch's funeral on Monday 19 September. 

He also received some backlash earlier this month after using language considered to be offensive in an "inflammatory" post following a football match between Celtic and Rangers. He later issued an apology to his 94,000 followers that read: "I've taken down a tweet I sent over the weekend. It was dumb and inflammatory and completely misjudged. My apologies to anyone offended by it."

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