Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Just when will someone take stand against the vile social media bullies?
Star in tears over online abuse
MARK JEFFERIES
GEMMA Collins breaks down in tears over the “terrifying” death threats and abuse she has received as a reality TV star.
The TOWIE and I’m a Celebrity star, 40, is often abused on social media and even in the street but bravely faces up to the bullying on ITV’S Life Stories.
Friend and TOWIE co-star Joey Essex highlights a tweet directed at Gemma that read “you’re so fat, die”, which he says is “not just abuse, it’s terrifying”.
Gemma sobs: “That was hard to watch. Well you don’t forget it, but that’s the downside to fame. I’m a lot more comfortable now in my own skin.”
Gemma agrees with interviewer Piers Morgan that it is “vile” and then confirms people have abused her in the street.
“It was so embarrassing once, I was taking my mum for lunch, a van pulled up and they started abusing me,” she recalls. “It wasn’t for me, I felt so hurt that happened in front of my mum.”
Asked what they were saying, she added: “You fat c***. You know, fat cow. Look at you stuffing your face. Again, I’m used to it but I didn’t want my mum to hear it. I was very upset, yeah.”
The star, who has also been a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother and
Dancing on Ice, admits that she struggles with her weight.
She says: “I think I have always turned to food in times of crisis.
“I mean any occasion, if I’m happy I eat, if I’m sad I eat. But I think it’s about dealing with your emotions and trying to find a way of dealing with them in a healthy way and not turning to
something that can harm you. Because it is like a form of self-harm.”
Gemma also reflects on her childhood in Romford, East London, with “no real money” but being happy as part of a hard-working family. She was bullied at school but now gets regular TV work and clothing deals and is thought to be worth more than £1million.
Asked if it would be good to rub the taunts in the bullies’ faces, Gemma responds: “I don’t believe in revenge and two wrongs don’t make a right. I hope that they’ve worked on something within themselves.”
It comes as Premier League referee Mike Dean asked to be stood down this weekend after receiving online death threats.
■ Piers Morgan’s Life Stories can be seen on Thursday at 9pm on ITV.
I’m used to abuse but I don’t want my mum to hear. I was upset, yeah GEMMA RECALLS BEING CALLED FAT IN THE STREET
A THIEF tried to steal a guide dog walking with her partially-sighted owner who carried a white stick.
Maisy Mcadam, a 23-year-old university student, was exercising alone in a nature reserve with Willow, a six-yearold labrador-golden retriever cross, when a man tried to snatch her pet thinking she couldn’t see him lurking.
But the thief fled when Maisy asked what he was doing as he tried to put his own lead on her guide dog.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association said it “beggars belief ” and backed calls by campaigners and charities for tougher sentences for stealing dogs.
Charities estimate that dog theft is up 250% in lockdown – fuelled by a huge demand for puppies as families spend more time at home. Debbie Matthews, 65, set up Vets Get Scanning after her dogs Widget and Gizmo were snatched.
They were later dumped after a TV appeal by her late father – TV legend Bruce Forsyth.
Debbie said: “This is the first time I have ever heard of a dog thief trying to steal a guide dog. It’s absolutely disgusting. How low can someone stoop? Dog thefts are out of control.
“The law needs to be changed now with tougher sentences for dog theft.”
Maisy let Willow off her lead to exercise at a Hampshire nature reserve when a man started asking questions about the dog’s age and breed. Maisy then heard a click and spotted he had pulled a dog lead out of his pocket and was trying to attach it to Maisie’s collar.
Maisy said: “I asked him what he was doing and he seemed startled and jumped up and didn’t say anything. I quickly clipped on Willow’s lead and left.
“I got scared he’d come back and take my phone and Willow. I don’t have peripheral vision so I could not tell where he was.”
Maisy alerted police and is now “quite nervous” about going out alone.
Tim Stafford, Guide Dogs for the Blind’s director of canine affairs, said: “It was obvious that Maisy was visually impaired. It beggars belief.” Willow allows Maisy to lead an independent life and was matched with
her after she had years of training. Maisy said: “She’s the best. She’s given me so much confidence, not only to travel around by myself but to meet new people and speak up for myself.”
In 2014, guide dog Tess – a six-year-old black curly-coated retriever – went missing while out on a “free run” with her owner near Inverness, Scotland. She has never been traced.
The Kennel Club recorded a near tripling in searches on its online “find a puppy” tool from March to June last year, compared with the same period in 2019.
The value of chow-chows, dachshunds, pugs and bulldogs is said to be up 75% since March, with the price of a pug almost doubling from £684 to £1,220.
The RSPCA said a rise in attacks on lone dog owners is “worrying”.
Sentences must be tougher for dog thefts.. they are out of control DEBBIE MATTHEWS OF VETS GET SCANNING