© Photo: Getty ImagesThe internet can be a hostile place - especially if you have a huge online presence. Whether you are an everyday person or someone famous, being a target of online abuse can be catastrophic on your mental health and in your personal life. But thankfully, these celebrities know how to take down their critics in style. Read their experiences here…
Princess Beatrice
In November, this royal bravely opened up about her experience with online bullying at the Web Summit in Lisbon. The 30-year-old gave advice to those who are going through the same ordeal, reassuring others that speaking out is the best solution. She told the Thomas Reuters Foundation at the summit: "Being a young girl, but now being 30 and a woman working full-time in technology, I feel very grateful for those experiences. But at that time it was very challenging." Beatrice also said that her mum, Sarah Ferguson, had been there for her. "She has been through a lot," she said. "When you see role models who are continually put in very challenging situations and can support you, then some of the tools that I have had from her I would like to share."
Princess Sofia
Princess Sofia has previously discussed her experience with cyber abuse in her podcast Raiders of Likes. "Early on I suffered enormous cyber abuse," she revealed. "It was a bit like walking into a wall." She added: "I know the difference from before I met Carl Philip and after our relationship became public." After her romance with now-husband Carl Philip went public in 2010, the Swedish princess admitted that she hadn't learned to filter negative comments. "It hit me very hard," she said. "But the experience has helped me understand what young people are exposed to daily."
Ed Sheeran
The British singer previously revealed that he was reducing the amount of time he spent on Twitter due to the haters. "I've actually come off Twitter completely," he told The Sun. "I can't read it. I go on it, and there's nothing but people saying mean things. Twitter's a platform for that. One comment ruins your day. But that's why I've come off it. The [explicit] for me has been trying to work out why people dislike me so much."
Kirstie Allsopp
The Location, Location, Location presenter was subjected to vile online abuse after she revealed she smashed her children's iPads when they spent too long playing on them. Subsequently, the TV star suspended her Twitter account after receiving "vicious" abuse about her parenting style. "The viciousness with which some people have responded is out of all proportion to the alleged offence," she wrote in Daily Mail.
© Photo: Getty ImagesBeth Tweddle
The retired Olympic gymnast previously opened up to HELLO! about her personal battle with cyber bullies. Beth, a former contestant on The Jump, explained that the trolls "always went for my looks". In 2017, she wrote: "It was in 2014 when I experienced some really horrid abuse on social media after taking part in a Twitter Q&A about women in sport. It was not the first time it had happened to me and the trolls always went for my looks." Beth, who became the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the European Championships, World Championships, and Olympic Games, added: "Luckily for me, for every negative comment I get online, there are ten or 20 positive ones, so I try not to dwell on the bad ones."
Jesy Nelson
Jesy was targeted by trolls when Little Mix appeared on The X Factor back in 2011. Some of the comments were so horrific, the singer was left in tears. "It used to make me cry. I was shocked at the time," she told Cosmopolitan in 2016. "I was a young girl and I thought, 'What have I done to you? Why do you have to be mean to me?' I'm not a nasty person and I took it to heart. Some of the things people said were disgusting. It really affected me."
© Photo: Getty ImagesSelena Gomez
Selena may be one of the most followed stars on Instagram. And while she receives several positive and inspiring messages, the negative comments have forced her not to use the app so much. "You can't avoid it sometimes," she told the New York Times in 2017. "I delete the app from my phone at least once a week. You fixate on the [negative] ones. They’re not like, 'You're ugly.' It's like they want to cut to your soul."
Make a stand. Say #HelloToKindness. Post your own kind message on Instagram today.
