Caroline was target of 1D fans, trolls & F4J activists

CAROLINE Flack faced online abuse from trolls for almost a decade.

The attacks began in earnest in 2011 when the TV host’s romance with One Direction singer Harry Styles became public.

Caroline was 32 at the time but the boyband star was only 17. The presenter was plagued with death threats by jealous young One Direction fans. Some carried placards with the message “Flack Off” to the group’s concerts.

Sickeningly, a One Direction magazine in the US encouraged its readers to make a

Caroline voodoo doll.

It also called her an “old

FLING Star romanced 1D’s Harry Styles woman” and criticised her “dirty blonde dye job”, “leather skin” and “crow’s feet”. Caroline called it one of “the most hurtful things” she’d ever read. Then, talking in 2014 about online abuse, she said: “When the bullies first started it became a bit all-consuming and I got a bit lost in my thoughts. It was horrible.

“But the more you learn about Twitter the more you realise it’s an outlet for people to be angry. I was always comfortable in my own skin until people started criticising it.”

In 2016, on the same topic, she said: “I ignored it for a very long time… And one time I looked. I’ll never forget what night it was because it felt really s***. I learned my lesson not to look.”

After her assault charge late last year, Fathers 4 Justice campaign group made attacks on Caroline which remained online last night, including: “DOMESTIC ABUSER @ carolineflack playing the VICTIM CARD again to win sympathy.”