Alan Carr decided to quit Twitter after constant trolling took a toll on his mental health, the comedian has revealed.
The 43-year-old, who is back on our screens this week with new series Epic Gameshow, said he deleted his account on the social network due to the hypocrisy of some of its users – which became even more apparent to the star after the death of Caroline Flack in February.
Speaking to Standard Online and other press earlier this year, Carr explained: “I’ve got a thick skin now because I’ve come off Twitter. Five million followers – gone.
“This is the thing I found weird – when I first got abuse on Twitter, I was shocked, and [would] think, ‘Why are you saying that?’
“And then I found I was just scrolling past it not giving a s**t. I was reading comments that said: ‘You should die, I hate you, I wish you were dead.’ I thought 'this is no way of living.”
He continued that it was the hypocrisy of one particular troll which drove him to quit Twitter for good.
“The last piece [of abuse] I got was quite inane,” Carr said. “Just ‘you’re s***’ or something like that.
“And then I looked at person’s timeline and they've just signed [a petition for] Caroline's Law about how she feels that the media should be a bit nicer and I thought well, what the f*** am I doing on this s****y app anyway? Everyone's a moron. I'm coming off it.”
Carr added jokingly: “Hashtag be kind.”
The Drag Race UK judge added he now uses his Instagram account to interact with people.
“I just thought, after Caroline Flack and stuff… [Twitter] just affects your mental health,” he said. “I’ve got an Instagram, it’s a bit shallower and I’m not going on it worried that I’m going to be slated.
“I know when I’ve done something and it’s s***. I don’t need someone to tell me, I know it is.”
Carr, however, does not feel Epic Gameshow will be bashed by trolls, with the zany format seeing the star bring back some of our best loved quiz formats from the past – including the Price is Right and Play Your Cards Right.
“They’ve had a bit of an update and a bit of a jshush,” he said. “But there’s enough retro for everyone. I think people are going to like it.”
Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow begins Saturday May 30 at 8.15pm on ITV.
