MP’s wife shrugs off online trolls
THE wife of Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer says she will continue to ‘have fun’ on social media after suffering abuse – including receiving human excrement through the letterbox.
Felicity Cornelius-Mercer admits that being a high-profile political spouse attracts attention, criticism and anger from some people.
Speaking to Times Radio she said putting herself in the spotlight in support of her husband meant she was ‘fair game’ for critics but laying low and staying off social media would not shield her from abuse.
She said: “The spotlight was going to come to me anyway.
“I have been off social media for a decade and most of that coincided with when Johnny decided that he was going to do this. So I thought ‘Okay, well, let’s not offer myself up on a plate and don’t be on social media. And do you know what happened? I get sent human excrement in the post.
“It doesn’t matter whether I was on social media or not. That spotlight, and I don’t know why, was going to come to me anyway.”
Mrs Mercer has developed a reputation on Twitter for sharp-eyed and sharper-tongued comments.
She says laughing off criticism is the best way to deal with it.
“I thought ‘why don’t I just own all of that and flip it round? And actually if I’m out there on social media I’m going to get abuse anyway.
“I may as well try and persuade at least some people that I’m actually a decent person and that I’m funny and I don’t take myself too seriously and we’re just a normal family trying to crack on.
“That was sort of within my control to put myself out there and I think that was actually the right thing to do because I was going to get it anyway so why not have a bit of fun with it.”