Strictly star Karen Carney, who is on Sunday Brunch today (September 21), once opened up about the relentless abuse she received on social media.
The former Chelsea and England midfielder opened up about the “death and rape threats” thrown at her after she made comments about Leeds United.
Strictly star Karen Carney on social media abuse
Karen, who made her Strictly debut last night (Saturday, September 20), revealed in a 2021 interview that the abuse she received on social media had a major impact on her mental health.
The abuse started after Karen made comments about Leeds United. She’d spoken about the team while providing punditry on their 5-0 win against West Brom in December 2020.
Karen expressed concern that Leeds could “blow up by the end of the season”. She added: “I actually think they got promoted because of Covid in terms of it gave them a bit of respite.”
Due to the pandemic, football had been suspended for three months in 2020. Following the break, Leeds went on to win the Championship, earning promotion to the Premier League.
The official Leeds United Twitter account shared the clip of Karen’s remarks, with the caption: “Promoted because of Covid. Won the league by 10 points”.
This tweet sparked angry reactions from Leeds fans, who took aim at Karen.
‘I felt physically sick’
Speaking to The Guardian six months later, Karen said: “I came off air and got in the car and remember saying to the guy who drives us home: ‘It’s kicking off,’ and I felt physically sick. I was sat the whole night, until three or four in the morning, in this daze. It was horrible.”
She then continued, explaining that some people had told her to “stand up to it”. However, she emphasised that her mental health was her priority.
Karen went on to say that the abuse was “relentless” and went on for “three or four days”.
She then revealed that the abuse made her consider taking her own life. “The only way I could make them understand was to say: ‘Do you want another Caroline Flack on your hands?’ Because that night, that’s how I felt, and in that moment, I could understand why she did what she did, because I could have gone to that place. It’s definitely changed me, the impact it’s had on me. I’ve seen it with other pundits, I’m not just speaking about myself,” she said.
Strictly star Karen Carney on ‘death and rape’ threats
Karen then went on to reveal how she received horrific social media abuse four years prior to that incident. The abuse had happened when she was still playing football.
“About four years ago, I got online abuse when I was playing, death and rape threats, leukaemia, things like that. When it happened at Christmas, it was another trigger, and I don’t think my mental health has been the same since,” she confessed.
She then went on to say that people “forget” that the people they’re abusing are human beings and there is a “lasting impact”. She then urged people to just “be nice”, and if they don’t like something they’re hearing on TV, to simply “turn over”.
If anything in this story has affected you, you can contact Samaritans at 116 123 or via email at [email protected]
Catch Karen on Sunday Brunch today (September 21) at 10am on Channel 4.
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