Drag Race UK: Lawrence Chaney addresses decision to quit Twitter: ‘I refused to be a doormat’

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Lawrence Chaney has opened up about her decision to quit Twitter after experiencing a barrage of online abuse, stating that she ‘refused to be a doormat’ for social media trolls.

Tonight, Lawrence will go up against Bimini Bon-Boulash, Tayce and Ellie Diamond in the highly-anticipated final of Drag Race UK series two.

In the weeks leading up to the final, the four finalists have gained fans across the world, while also having to cope with the difficulties of cruel and relentless online trolls.

During a recent Zoom chat with Metro.co.uk and other press, Lawrence explained that fans have a right to ‘have an opinion’ on the show and its contestants, just like she has an opinion on the queens currently competing in the 13th season of Drag Race in the US.

However, following the argument Lawrence had with Ellie over the running order of their stand-up sets during the comedy challenge, the Scottish queen found that trolls were firing insults her way that were completely unrelated, which is why she decided to take a step away from the social media platform.

‘Scrolling on my timeline [and seeing] “Lawrence Chaney is a fat c***” – what’s that got to do with an argument on television? Because I don’t remember fat c*** being related to anything I said on the show,’ Lawrence said, stating that she and Ellie have argued over trivial things like Nando’s ‘as friends do’.

‘I’m not going to stop folk having an opinion. I have an opinion about the show. I love watching the American one and going, “Oh she should have gone home, oh totally.” But I kind of refused when I saw people on my timeline, scrolling, chilling… I refused to be a doormat for those people to @ me and send me abuse,’ Lawrence said.

‘Because you want to call me a bully, you want to call me all that stuff, fair enough – you don’t need to @ me and you don’t need to call me a fat c*** either, because that has nothing to do with it. I am a fat c***, but it’s got nothing to do with it, you know?’

Lawrence has since returned to Twitter, sharing a post on March 11 that read: ‘NUFFIN GETS PAST ME, SWEETHEART!!! I’m back #TeamLawrenceChaney.’

The performer explained that there is a ‘double-edged sword with the Drag Race fandom’, as there are some fans that are incredibly supportive and others who can be very hurtful.

‘We love them and they’re amazing because they care,’ Lawrence said. ‘The sad side of it is that because they love so much, there’s a yin and yang to everything.

‘Where there is overly positive things, there are overly negative things. And for every comment you have where you’ve got someone saying you’ve saved my life I love you, you’re going to have someone saying that they hope you die.’

Ellie, who took part in the Zoom interview with Lawrence, added that fans often ‘feel like they know you’, particularly as the queens on Drag Race ‘discuss things that are a bit more personal to you’.

‘Who gives you the right to message me horrible things like that?’ Ellie added.

Lawrence said that fellow Drag Race competitor Sister Sister was especially supportive when she experienced trolling, as Sister publicly spoke out about the hateful messages she received while on the series.

Lawrence also received some sage advice from Drag Race season seven star Kasha Davis, who told her that ‘the only best friend you need to worry about is that block button, because you’re never going to be able to change these people’s opinions’.

‘These people are not asking you to open up a discussion about your behaviour. They’ve made their mind up, they don’t care. You need to just block them. Or if you can withstand what they’re saying, you need to just ignore them, but that was a great bit of advice from Kasha,’ Lawrence said.

BBC Three brings the final episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK to BBC iPlayer from 7pm Thursday March 18.

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