Politics
Woman gets brutally trolled for ‘Chewbacca’ hairy leg after accident left her unable to shave
A HORSE rider has hit out at cruel trolls who branded her ‘Chewbacca’ for showing off her HAIRY LEG on social media – after a riding accident left her unable to shave her broken limb.
Millie Mclay is unable to shave her left leg due to a metal frame fixed to her limb after she broke her bone during a riding accident in Richmond Park, London, in December, when her horse galloped out of control.
Horse rider Millie Mclay was left unable to shave her leg after a riding accident[/caption]
The 23-year-old suffered a high energy tibia-fibula compound fracture when the animal crushed her – leaving her bone poking through the skin and requiring the external frame to avoid amputation.
Refusing to stop being active, the stable manager then began posting videos of her home workouts on TikTok, but soon received negative comments about her leg hair – including one suggesting she was ‘growing her own UGG boot’.
While vile trolls referred to her as ‘Chewbacca’ or asked if she was ‘a boy’, Millie claims the attention has had the opposite effect than intended – as she is now considering stopping shaving her body hair altogether.
In videos to her 127,000 followers, the TikToker hits back at trolls with sassy responses and now vows never to let them get her down.
The 23-year-old suffered a fracture when the animal crushed her[/caption]
Cruel trolls who branded her ‘Chewbacca’ for showing off her hairy leg on social media[/caption]
In videos to her 127,000 followers, the TikToker hits back at trolls with sassy responses and now vows never to let them get her down[/caption]
Millie from Richmond upon Thames, London, said: “I was so shocked that the shock factor of my videos wasn’t the metal frame – it was the fact I had a bit of hair on my leg.
“I can’t get my head around that people find it so disgusting when it’s completely normal.
“The doctors have said that if I shave, little bits of hairs could go inside the holes, which could go into my bone. I still constantly have that risk of deep bone infection and I’d have to have my leg amputated.
“The reason I’m [not shaving] is to reduce the risk of infection.
“I didn’t do it to make a stand or try and normalise body hair. Lots of people commented saying ‘thank you so much for normalising body hair’.
“The comments [from trolls] didn’t upset me. [They’ve] made me debate why I shave and think maybe I will just grow out my body hair. Who am I doing it for?
“I think it goes without saying that your health is more important than what it looks like.”
The stable manager then began posting videos of her home workouts on TikTok, but soon received negative comments[/caption]
Millie was riding in Richmond Park when her horse slipped on the wet ground[/caption]
While bedbound, she made the decision to train as a personal trainer and hopes her videos will continue to show people there are ‘no excuses’ – even when she has a leg frame.
After posting videos and pictures on Instagram and TikTok, she then began receiving messages from men claiming to be shocked by how hairy her leg was – while teens send her pictures of their own leg hair after feeling self-conscious.
Millie said: “I initially started on Instagram just posting pictures and videos of me doing home workouts with my frame, with hashtag ‘no excuses’, to show I’m still working out with a broken leg.
“I want to make as good a recovery as I possibly can. Then I posted on TikTok, initially just videos of my workouts.
Millie is now considering stopping shaving her body hair altogether[/caption]
“I posted one video where I made a joke about the comments I’d received from some men about my leg hair. I had about 20 followers at the time so didn’t think anyone would see the video, but that’s the first one everybody was talking about.
“I was so shocked.
“I wrote something like ‘when an old man makes a comment about your leg hair’ because I’d had that a little bit. They were shocked about the hair and that a woman could have so much.
“The reason is because this is four months of growth.
“Instagram has been a lot more supportive. There have been some nice comments on TikTok, [despite] the not very nice ones.
While bedbound, she made the decision to train as a personal trainer[/caption]
“The two messages I’m trying to get through is [there are] no excuses with working out. You can achieve your goals no matter what.
“I’ve had messages from young girls, aged 14 or 15, with photos of their arms and legs and saying ‘I didn’t realise anyone was that hairy – what do you think of this?’ It’s funny they’re coming to me.
“It’s so sad. I’ve been there before this injury where I’d been at school and boys had said ‘you’ve got gorilla hairy legs’.
“Girls that age just see airbrushed photos online.”
At the end of last year, Millie had just returned home from a holiday in the Maldives and was riding in Richmond Park when her horse slipped on the wet ground.
It tumbled on top of her, before pushing off from her leg to get up, breaking her shin bone which stuck out through the inside of her leg and into the dirt.
Millie was rushed to Richmond Hospital where her leg was manipulated back into position and she was put into a cast, before later being referred to St George’s Hospital two weeks later, where she was fitted with a stabilising frame that went through her foot.
Millie said: “She slipped right over and came falling down on top of my leg, then pushed off to get herself up.
“My shin bone came through the inside of my leg and into the mud. The pain was awful.
“The doctor came and saw me and said ‘this is a really, really serious injury’. It’s a high-energy tib-fib open fracture, which means the bone had come into contact with the outside.
“He told me then I wouldn’t ride again, but I’m now hoping I will.
“I was bedbound for two weeks. I wasn’t even able to get up to go to the toilet or wash myself. I found it really tough.
Millie is determined to make as good a recovery as possible and stay strong[/caption]
“I thought I would have an internal plate, but the doctor said because the risk of infection was so high, if he put metal work inside my leg, there was a 25 percent risk of amputation.
“He decided to put the external fixator on. I’ve had it on since January, coming up to four months. I’m hoping that soon it’ll come off.”
As soon as she was discharged, Millie started working out from home, determined to make as good a recovery as possible and stay strong.
As Millie posted more videos, some trolls questioned why her leg was so hairy, suggesting she might be ‘growing her own UGG boot’.
One user said: “Sorry for asking but I’m curious…. are you a boy or was one?”
Another troll said: “Chewbacca… I thought I lost you buddy. Did [that] awful storm trooper get you? Sorry, I had too.”
Millie began receiving messages from men claiming to be shocked by how hairy her leg was[/caption]
An account also said: “It’s like you’re growing your own UGG boot.”
However others came to her defence, pointing out body hair was natural and ‘doesn’t stink’.
One TikToker said: “I don’t understand those comments. It’s just leg hair, it’s not unhygienic or something. It’s doesn’t stink.”
Another said: “She has a metal thing inside her leg… and people [are] worried about the hair?”
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