Former Gogglebox star Tom Malone Jr has spoken out against the vile racist abuse his girlfriend experienced after a troll threatened to throw acid in her face.
Tom, 26, who shot to fame alongside his family on the Channel 4 show in 2016, took to social media to speak out against the horrific racism his partner Bryony Briscoe has experienced. The reality star shared examples of some of the messages she received, including one where the troll said “she looks like a man”.
One troll took it a step further and wrote: “Would you still like her, with acid in her face? Let’s see how that goes."
Instead of staying quiet, Tom spoke out against the situation to highlight that this is unacceptable behaviour - but also to show how the current algorithm to detect dangerous and abusive content clearly didn’t work.
He wrote: “Trigger warning: Racism. So during the pandemic any content that mentioned covid was flagged immediately and a warning could be put on it but @instagram can’t track racial slurs and prevent them from being used?” he questioned.
Bryony herself also took to social media as she addressed the abuse she was being subjected to, after one fan asked her, “How do you deal with racial abuse?”
She said: “I’ve never received racial abuse from someone more intelligent or successful than me which I find humour in.
“It doesn’t bother me much anymore because it’s not a reflection of me it’s a reflection of how much hatred that person has in their heart and that their issue not mine.
“Life is too short to be affected by other peoples internal wars.”
Tom and Bryony's relationship has gone from strength to strength and they have even spoken about tying the knot one day.
Speaking to The Sun earlier this year, Tom spoke proudly about his relationship as he said: "It’s been good, it feels like we’ve been together for a lot longer than we have. It’s actually gone a lot better than I thought it would.
"I’ve always been like very strict on the fact that I wouldn’t get into a relationship if I didn’t think that potential was there. Unless I can see myself getting married to the person, I wouldn’t get into a relationship because I wouldn’t waste my time or the other person's time. The fact that I am in a relationship with her means yeah.”
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