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Loose Women star India Willoughby felt after constant barrage of transphobic abuse on Twitter-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro
‘I feel worthless.’
India Willoughby has considered taking her own life after online abuse (Picture: David Fisher/ REX/ Shutterstock)
Loose Women star India Willoughby has revealed she felt suicidal due to constant transphobic trolling.
The country’s first transgender newsreader, India has shared just how bad the online abuse has become, revealing that she contemplated suicide as recently as Wednesday night.
‘Last night, I thought that I was going to kill myself and that’s exactly what they want,’ she said.
‘I feel worthless, nobody listens, nobody wants me to have a voice.’
On Tuesday night India announced she would be leaving Twitter after engaging in a debate about why trans women should be included in adverts for tampons.
However she was inundated with comments and messages that she said quickly became very overwhelming.
India has left Twitter after the abuse (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
In her ‘final tweet’, she wrote to her nearly 60,000 followers that ‘it’s not safe here for me anymore’.
Speaking about what happened the next day, India said that she felt unprotected against the vile threats she had been receiving on the social media platform, one of which included a serious death threat.
She said the threat was a cartoon drawing of a of a trans woman being hanged with a grotesque face, gouged out genitals, the wording “you will never be a woman” written on the chest and a note instructing her to “kill herself”.’
‘I’ve just had enough. This week has been horrendous and it’s quite clear that there’s no protection for Elon Musk,’ she told MyLondon.
‘Trans people aren’t allowed in mainstream media; the only medium is social media and it’s pushing us further back into the closet and back in the shadows.’
While India uses her platform to shine a light on trans rights, it’s also seen her become the target of many trolls.
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Back in 2015 India came out publicly on Lorraine, and three years later made history as the first trans woman to guest host an all-female panel show, when she joined the Loose Women ladies.
After that she went on to appear for on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 and is now a regular guest on Good Morning Britain.
Need support?
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
If you’re a young person, or concerned about a young person, you can also contact PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide UK. Their HOPELINK digital support platform is open 24/7, or you can call 0800 068 4141, text 07860039967 or email: pat@papyrus-uk.org between the hours of 9am and midnight.
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