Duchess of York warns of vicious social media ‘sewer’
THE “sewer” of social media is pitting high-profile women against one another, Sarah, Duchess of York, has warned, as she says it is reminding her of the difficult days of her so-called rivalry with Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Duchess said the descent of social media into “appalling” vicious comments “terrifies” her, as she joins a campaign for online kindness inspired by the treatment of the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex.
Claiming “bullying, sniping, bitching, even the most appalling sexism, racism and homophobia are commonplace” online, she said: “Women, in particular, are constantly pitted against and compared with each other in a way that reminds me of how people tried to portray Diana and me all the time as rivals, which is something neither of us ever really felt.”
The Duchess, writing in Hello!, has added her support to the magazine’s campaign about social media, which was inspired by extreme abuse of the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex in online forums that include Kensington Palace’s own Instagram account.
Palace sources disclosed how staff are spending hours moderating messages – many of which are racist or sexist – in comment threads, with opposing camps of fans aiming insults at each other.
The Duchess of York compared it to the world she experienced in the Eighties, when she and Diana married into the Royal family and went from being portrayed as a glamorous double act to competitors.
She wrote: “It’s time to confront head on the fact that much of social media has become a sewer.
“People feel licensed to say things online that they would never dream of saying to someone’s face, and that encourages others to pile in. It’s time to take a stand.”
The full article is published in Hello! magazine, out now.