«Breaking News» TOWIE EXCLUSIVE: Chloe Meadows and Courtney Green talk trolling

With almost half of all teens experiencing online bullying at some point, trolling is becoming an increasingly urgent issue in the UK.

But despite reports that police are arresting nine people a day a bid to clamp down on social media hate speech, negativity on the internet appears more prevalent than ever.

The TOWIE cast discussed their own experience of online trolling in an interview with MailOnline last week, urging keyboard warriors to think again before insulting someone, especially ‘just because’ they’re in the public eye.

Speaking out: The TOWIE cast discussed their own experience of online trolling in an interview with MailOnline last week, urging keyboard warriors to think again (pictured, Chloe Meadows)

Their words are all the more meaningful in light of news of Love Island star Mike Thalassitis’ tragic death aged just 26, who was found in woods near his Essex home over the weekend.

Many people – including former cast members – have been reflecting on the rise of the reality star phenomenon and urging for better aftercare and support to cope with the bubble of fast fame.

Chloe Meadows, who joined TOWIE in alongside her best friend Courtney Green in 2016, admitted she had experienced social anxiety due to being attacked over storylines on the ITVBe show.

She explained: ‘It causes anxiety, really bad anxiety. Last series when we were having a bad time on the show and were being called bullies, I was getting so much hate, I couldn’t even keep up.

‘I’d go to Tesco’s and look around and think, I wonder if that person hates me, I wonder if that person has commented online.’

Despite developing a thick skin, Courtney admitted it can be hard to brush the comments off and says they sometimes affect to the point where she has missed meals.

Hard to handle: Despite developing a thick skin, Courtney Green admitted it can be hard to brush the comments off and says they sometimes affect to the point where she has missed meals

She said: ‘It’s difficult, especially [for] the younger girls coming onto the show, they’re obviously going to be scrutinised, it is hard to deal with.

‘Even still, when I get comments calling me "short and dumpy" or "fat", I don’t eat that day.’

Chloe added: ‘The things they say, they would affect anyone. 

'If someone picks out something about your personal appearance and then you see more than one person make the same comment, you think, “I must actually look like that or be fat”.’

Their co-stars Clelia Theodourou and Shelby Tribble agreed, saying they are astounded by the amount of vitriolic messages they have received.

Under the microscope: There is a perception that reality stars are fair game just because they ‘chose to be in the limelight’ - and the girls are adamant it needs to stop

There is a perception that reality stars are fair game just because they ‘chose to be in the limelight’ - and the girls are adamant it needs to stop.

Clelia said: ‘Just because you’re on a TV show, they think they’ve got the right to analyse you and talk about you. We’re strangers to you.’

Pointing out the fickle nature of online abuse, Chloe added: ‘They say all these really nasty things and then people get plastic surgery, then they complain about that even more!’

In hard-to-stomach scenes during the last series of TOWIE, viewers saw Chloe (a stunning, natural blonde with a perfect figure) burst into tears as she lamented feeling inferior compared to the other girls on the show – to the point where she was considering getting surgery.

While Chloe admits she’s got her confidence back there days, it is a daily battle due to the relentless, 24/7 abuse the girls receive on mediums like Twitter.

Confidence crisis: Last series, Chloe burst into tears as she lamented feeling inferior compared to the other girls on the show, largely due to comments from trolls 

‘There’s so many beautiful girls and boys on this show and on social media, it’s very easy to compare yourself and get bogged under. You go through phases, sometimes I feel good about myself’, she said.

‘When my boyfriend and my mum see me break down and cry over people saying nasty things, that’s where it’s affecting them as well', Chloe added.

Clelia revealed she was even going to be changing her hairstyle due to the negative reaction her new cut had been met with on Instagram.

‘Everyone hates my fringe. I’m growing it out’, she confessed. ‘I thought I’d do something really different with my hair, but everyone on my Instagram hated it.'

There will be those who claim they can simply ignore the comments, or not read them, but Clelia explained it’s not always that simple.

She said: ‘I’ve had it really bad where this person kept making more and more accounts, messaging me constantly. I was blocking them, but how can I get away?’

Think again: Clelia Theodourou revealed she was even changing her hairstyle due to the negative reaction her new cut had been met with on Instagram

Shelby added that she is often concerned for the cast's safety.  ‘I’m not being funny but people have been glassed just because someone hates you on TV. It’s scary’, she said.

The Metropolitan Police have been trying to crack down on the rise in online bullying.

Over 3,300 people were detained in 2016 over trolling, marking a rise of nearly 50 per cent in two years, but little can be done in practice to prosecute.

The cast agreed more needed to be done to stop internet bullying becoming more prevalent, expressing their hopes for harsher rules and regulations.

Chloe reasoned: ‘There needs to be a line with people saying, "I hope you get run over by a bus, I hope you get cancer, I hope your whole family dies". That needs to be illegal.

‘When you wake up in the morning after you’ve had a ‘bad’ episode, where you’ve done something that’s not even that bad in the grand scheme of things, and you’re getting death threats over it, something should be done about it. That is not OK.’ 

TOWIE is back on Sundays at 9pm on ITVBe. 

Tougher sanctions: The cast agreed more needed to be done to stop internet bullying becoming more prevalent, expressing their hopes for harsher rules and regulations (pictured, Shelby Tribble)

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/18/towie-exclusive-chloe-meadows-and-courtney-green-talk-trolling/
Main photo article With almost half of all teens experiencing online bullying at some point, trolling is becoming an increasingly urgent issue in the UK.
But despite reports that police are arresting nine people a day a bid to clamp down on social media hate speech, negativity on the internet appears more...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

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