I’ve had death threats over this snap of my ‘perfect morning’, says blogger
SUrrOUNDED by pink heart balloons and plates of strawberries, a blogger poses for an online snap to show how she starts her day ‘in a positive way’.
But soon after Scarlett London posted it on Instagram, trolls began a torrent of abuse – sending her death threats and urging her to kill herself.
The 24-year- old’s photo of her ‘perfect morning’ was a paid partnership with the dental hygiene brand Listerine and showed her sitting on a bed with a cup of tea. It also featured a bottle of the firm’s mouthwash. Her caption
said: ‘The best of days start with a smile and positive thoughts. and pancakes. and strawberries. and bottomless tea.’
She also promoted her youTube channel, promising to give followers ‘a little insight into how I start my day in a positive way’.
But commenters quickly claimed the pancakes looked like folded tortilla wraps and that her teacup was empty. The photo went viral after a Twitter user shared it, saying: ‘Instagram is a ridiculous lie factory made to make us all feel inadequate.’
His post was liked almost 100,000 times, with some users accusing
Miss London of selling a ‘false, unobtainable image to impressionable young people’.
Comments started off with gentle mockery, with Sherlock actress amanda abbington tweeting: ‘I almost never wake up like that’.
Labour Party women’s officer June Tilbury added: ‘She’s got bad breath. That’s why she’s alone.’
However, Miss London said the comments have now escalated to
death threats, ‘many to the effect that I’m a danger to young women and should suffer, I should be stopped, I should suffocate on the balloons, I should kill myself because of how pathetic I am’.
She added: ‘Those were the more tame of the bunch. I implore those mindlessly sharing this content to research who I am as a person before they further drag my name and image through the mud.
Sometimes my photos are whimsical and OTT and a little too pink, but I’m not presenting this as an “idealistic” version of life that young girls should aspire to.
‘I am a strong 24-year-old woman who has experienced bullying in the past. I am and will be okay after this hideous experience. But another young girl or guy as the subject of a targeted hate campaign might not be okay.’