Jordan’s warned: “You’re putting Harvey in danger”
With dogged determination, Jordan has continued to expose the vicious trolling targeting her disabled son Harvey – but experts are afraid it’s putting him in harm’s way
Over the past O few months, Jordan’s life has descended into chaos – with her drug-taking, wild partying and run-ins with the law making daily headlines, as she struggles to cope with her third divorce, her mum Amy’s terminal illness, and having two of her children move in with their dad. As Closer went to press, she was due to face her sixth court appearance in as many months – this time, on drinkdriving charges.
Amid the controversy and shocking headlines, however, Jordan – real name Katie Price – has had one major triumph. Her campaign to make online bullying – something her disabled son Harvey has been a victim of – a crime won the backing of MPS, with the so-called Harvey’s Law possibly coming into force next year.
OUTRAGE
However, last week, even her campaigning backfired amid accusations she has inadvertently exposed Harvey to more hate. After cruel trolls circulated a picture of Harvey, 16, with his head superimposed onto the body of a jihadi bride, Jordan, 40, shared the image on both hers and Harvey’s Instagram accounts to illustrate the kind of bullying he has to endure. And although there was righteous outrage at the cruelty of the original post, anger was also directed towards Jordan.
Fans were quick to question her methods, with hundreds pointing out that most people may have missed the original post but, as Harvey has 125k followers and she has 1.9million, she actually ensured far more people saw it.
As Harvey – who is estranged from his father, footballer Dwight Yorke – suffers from numerous disabilities, including partial blindness, autism and Prader-willi syndrome, fans suggested Harvey wouldn’t have seen or understood the original post. It’s believed Jordan controls the account, although he does write some captions.
Fans slammed the mum-of-five, with one writing, “Don’t understand why you let him have his own Instagram when all this stuff is about for him to see.” Another added, “Katie should be protecting him. Why should he have to know all about this hate?” Another wrote, “As if he would have even known this, Katie Price you are shameless, you should be protecting him from this, not shoving it in his face.”
But some leapt to the former glamour model’s defence. One fan said, “This poor woman can’t do right for doing wrong! She is trying to make everyone aware of this. Hiding it from Harvey isn’t helping him.” While another said, “Bullies shouldn’t exist or should be punished! Not the other way around…”
FEEDING TROLLS
Experts have warned Jordan that although her campaign message is absolutely right, her methods could potentially put Harvey in harm’s way. Social media expert Matt Navarro says, “The phrase ‘don’t feed the trolls’ applies here – Katie is providing them with a platform. Trolls bite to aggravate, and this enables them to do it more, putting Harvey in danger of further trolling. While it’s good that Katie is challenging the trolls, she is also encouraging them.”
And online communications guru Sharn Rayment says, “Katie’s heart is in the right place and she may not mean to, but leaving the comments on [his Instagram page] is cruel to Harvey, who has been subjected to bullying his whole life.”
Despite being slammed for her actions, pals say Jordan – who regularly appears with Harvey on TV to promote her campaign – has no intention of stopping.
A source says, “Like any mother, Katie loves and adores her son. And while she puts on a very tough act, she is still shocked that people would slam her for her actions. To be accused of exposing Harvey to the cruelty of online trolls is her worst nightmare – it’s the last thing she’d ever want and the very thing she’s trying to prevent.
“Katie is obsessed with the campaign and her intentions are well-meaning, but her mission to make online abuse a crime has blinkered her at times. Her pals worry her huge success with the campaign may have blinded her to the full personal impact of how she’s going about this.”
Meanwhile, the star’s personal life continues to be chaotic, with her children Junior, 13, and Princess, 11, now living with
❛ HER MISSION TO MAKE ONLINE ABUSE A CRIME HAS BLINKERED HER AT TIMES ❜
their dad, Peter Andre, while Jett, five, and Bunny, four, also spend time with their father, Kieran Hayler. Both Peter and Kieran were close to Harvey and are said to be upset that he’s being exposed to ridicule, but realise they can’t do much about it.
CRUSADER
The insider says, “Kieran’s spoken to Katie and told her he feels uncomfortable about what’s happening to Harvey, but she always responds saying she knows what’s best. Junior and Princess are also upset to see their brother being viciously trolled, which also impacts Pete.”
For the past fortnight, it’s believed Harvey has been in residential care midweek – with Jordan recently revealing she felt she had “no choice” but to place him there as he was too difficult to look after at home and “scared” the other children when they were with her.
Shockingly, Jordan’s also said to be keen to have more children with on/off boyfriend Kris Boyson, 30, although, in a further twist, that relationship is now said to be rocky, with reports last week claiming he looked “agitated and annoyed” during a night out together.
The source adds, “Katie wants to expose just how low these trolls stoop, but she also thrives on the distraction from her roller-coaster life.”
And pyschological therapist Emma Kenny agrees, saying, “She’s made a sacrifice, but it’s for a good cause. I do genuinely think she wants to help the disabled community. I believe she’s partly doing this because she wants to be a crusader, rather than a failure, and wants to divert attention away from all the disasters in her life recently.”