Lucy Kennedy has revealed she felt “violated” by vicious trolling in the aftermath of featuring controversial reality star Katie Hopkins on her Living With Lucy series.
She opens up about the online abuse in the final episode of Lucy Investigates which airs on Virgin Media One tomorrow at 9pm.
A cyber expert said online harassment is on the rise since the pandemic with death threats and rape threats among the most extreme forms of abuse in Ireland.
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Mum-of-three Lucy revealed: “I did a TV show and I lived with someone who was controversial, now, I have no regrets and I laughed afterwards.
“But at the time the negative comments came in, I wasn’t used to it.
“I felt sick to my stomach because I thought everybody hated me. I felt violated.
“I don’t know how people cope with it mental health-wise.”
“I don’t know how they can actually separate how they feel from how they’re being treated and still go out there and smile like all these celebrities.”
Dr Maja Brandt Andreason of Dublin City University’s Anti-Bullying Centre said it’s vital to distinguish between trolling and online abuse.
She added: “We see people receiving rape threats, death threats, it can be sexual harassment, it can result in serious consequences for the targets of this type of abuse.”
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