Love Island star Georgia Steel on the impact of trolling: ‘I felt like everyone hated me – it made me feel like I didn’t know myself’

Published

3 months ago

March 31, 2024

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“Hate and death threats and abuse, and personal, deep things. All the hate out there… I don’t think anyone can prepare you for that.”

Georgia Steel doesn’t find it easy talking about the trolling directed at her during her time on Love Island, but says it is an issue she needs to address.

The reality star rose to fame in 2018, when, aged 20, she appeared in the fourth series and earned her place among the show’s most memorable contestants. In January this year, with more than 1.6m followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms, she returned to appear in a new “all stars” version of the show in South Africa.

She found herself at the centre of the drama after – shock! – flirting with someone who wasn’t her “partner” at the time, and eventually getting together with a different contestant, Toby Aromolaran, after he unceremoniously ditched the partner he was with without warning during a public recoupling, and declared his interest in Steel. (They left the show together, but she revealed last week he had called things off).

This is essentially the extent of her crimes. The reaction was so vicious that her family and management team, looking after her social media accounts while she was cut off from the real world, decided to step in, sharing this post.

To the uninitiated, the romances and fall-outs of 20-somethings who have spent a maximum of five weeks together might seem trivial, but viewers become invested. “It’s a reality show, it’s not real life,” Steel points out. “You’re not in a normal situation.”

Steel comes across as a confident, funny, glamorous young woman on TV. In person, she is still all of those things, but more fragile. Most of the hundreds of messages were deleted before she was reunited with her phone to save her from the extent of the cruelty, and she becomes tearful hearing the words her loved ones felt were necessary to make public.

“For the people I love to have witnessed those things, it is terrible, awful, and it does make me feel slightly responsible.”

‘A tidal wave of abuse’

Online trolling has been a rising problem for years and one that doesn’t appear to be going away. Anyone sending serious violent threats faces up to five years in prison – but despite the calls to “be kind”, the stories of abuse continue – as seen in recent weeks towards previous Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu following her time in the revived Celebrity Big Brother.

Then there was the trolling of Amber Heard during the Johnny Depp court cases, now the subject of a new investigative podcast. Most recently, the world has been given a grim reminder of the potential effects of online gossip and trolling following the Princess of Wales’s public announcement of her cancer diagnosis.

Anti-bullying and online abuse charities and organisations say the majority of trolling is directed at women, and Ofcom research in 2022 found that 60% of women were concerned by the issue, compared with 25% of men.

Research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate into the direct (private) Instagram messages of five prominent women, including Heard and Countdown’s Rachel Riley, found that around one in seven were abusive, either through misogynist comments or sending unsolicited sexual advances.

Founder and chief executive Imran Ahmed says it can be “traumatising to receive a tidal wave of abuse”, and that he has known “strong, empowered people who found themselves in a heap on their sofa, crying, because that’s just what it’s like to have thousands of people screaming swear words at you”.

Linda James, founder and chief executive of the BulliesOut charity, says trolling can be “relentless and dangerous”, and that “even the nicest, most reasonable, and mild-mannered people in real life” can exhibit trolling behaviour once they are online.

‘You don’t know if the whole world hates you’

Most of the direct abuse sent to Steel, who celebrated her 26th birthday earlier this week, came through Instagram, but there were other “horrible” posts on TikTok and shared on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), her team said. Steel is aware that being in the public eye means strangers will have opinions of her – but says there is a difference between opinion and threats and bullying.

“You don’t really know how to process it… you’re quite scared,” she says. “You don’t know if the whole world hates you – I felt like everyone hated me.”

The worst thing was knowing her family and friends had also been sent abuse, that they had seen the comments written about her. “It made me question everything I did,” she says.

“It made me feel like I didn’t know myself to a certain degree… My family, my friends, they had death threats. My mum got messages like, ‘How could you raise a girl like this?’ I just want to make the people that support and love me proud. I know that they still are. But it makes me worry that they’re not.”

For an influencer whose career revolves around social media, it has been a tricky balancing act trying to keep away from it all. But after finishing the show and getting her phone back, she turned it off and left it for a week.

“I needed to rebuild my confidence,” she says. “I spent it with my mum and my dad and my brother, and I just wanted reassurance constantly. ‘Have I done anything wrong? What could I have done better?'”

It’s sad to hear Steel say she accepts that to many viewers, she was the “villain” of this latest season of Love Island. She is, after all, a young woman who flirted and had her head turned, to use the Love Island lexicon – on a reality show that survives on flirting and contestants having their heads turned. She says Aromolaran did not receive the same level of abuse.

“I am still a person. I’m a [young] girl, I’m still learning my way. I’m not perfect. If anything, me making mistakes on a show, it shows that I’m genuine and that I’m real. But instead, it was kind of used against me… is it because I’m a woman? Is it double standards? I don’t know.”

The anonymity is one of the hardest things to come to terms with. “It’s like going into a shop and wearing a balaclava and abusing someone… these people are hiding behind anonymous names and fake accounts. There’s definitely times when I’d be out and thinking, they’re looking at me… ‘Oh my God, is that one of the trolls?’ It makes it really scary because you just don’t know who they are.”

Steel says she does not blame ITV or Love Island for the trolling as they cannot control what people say online, and that support from the show’s producers “is always there if you need it”.

When the trolling against the star was announced, producers put out a statement urging viewers “to be kind when engaging in social media conversations about our Islanders, and to remember that they are real people with feelings”.

Trolling ‘bleeds over’ into real world

In recent years, the broadcaster has announced greater duty of care protocols for its reality show participants and last year implemented a ban on Love Island contestants’ social media accounts being active during their time on the show – although All Stars participants, as they already had public profiles, were given the option.

Steel thinks social media platforms should be doing more, and that the solution is simple.

“It would just be literally having an ID when you sign up to an account or having some proof of who you are, instead of constantly going behind a screen and being anonymous. That’s what I really don’t understand. I don’t understand how that’s allowed, if I’m honest.”

In its information on anti-bullying features and tools, Instagram says it is committed to protecting users and urges people to report anything that violates its guidelines so that action can be taken if necessary, while TikTok says it does not “allow language or behavior that harasses, humiliates, threatens, or doxxes anyone”.

X says it prohibits “behaviour and content that harasses, shames, or degrades others”, while Facebook also says it does not “tolerate this kind of behaviour because it prevents people from feeling safe and respected”.

Last year, the Online Safety Act was passed by MPs, requiring providers of online services to minimise the extent of illegal and harmful content. Once implemented, the act will require social media firms to enforce “stringent measures against criminal online abuse”, a government spokesperson said, including “proactively tackling exposure to illegal content that can disproportionately affect women and girls, including controlling and abusive behaviour”.

Before this can be enforced, new codes of practice and guidance have to be produced. A spokesperson for Ofcom told Sky News these are expected to be finalised around the end of the year, while further proposed measures “to protect children from sexist hate and abuse specifically” will be announced in May.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate says things need to change, and that online trolling and division can have real-world consequences.

“We have to stop this epidemic of abuse,” Mr Ahmed says. “It starts to bleed over and resocialise our real world as well, which is why we can see that relations in our society, our politics, our discourse are becoming more fragmented, more vicious, less productive and less conducive to the kind of democracy we want.”

‘That one comment could tip someone over the edge’

Steel says she wants to speak out as she feels she is in a position where she is able to, with an “amazing” support system in her friends and family at home in York.

“I’m very lucky,” she says. “I want to admit: I got trolled really, really, really bad. And yeah, it really, really, really affected me. But I am okay. And some people, if they were in my position, might not be okay. I think some people are built stronger than others or some people have better foundations than others, and the ones that maybe don’t, they’re the ones that we really have to think about.”

Two former Love Island contestants, Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis, have ended their own lives. Gradon died in 2018, two years after appearing on the show; Thalassitis the following year, also two years after taking part.

Gradon had reportedly spoken about the “horrific” trolling she experienced in a radio interview in the months before her death, while Montana Brown, a contestant in Thalassitis’s season, urged people to “be a little bit nicer, little bit kinder“, following the inquest into his death.

It was the suicide of Love Island presenter Caroline Flack in 2020 that sparked the “be kind” encouragement on social media. But Steel isn’t convinced people are taking notice.

“Caroline presented my show in 2018 and I never expected that to happen,” she says. “As much as we talk about it and say it’s not okay, I think there actually needs to be something set in place, before it’s too late and something else happens, and then it’s just a vicious circle. It’s, ‘we’ll be kind for a bit, and then we’ll forget about it, and then someone else… then we’ll be kind for a bit again’. That circle needs to stop.”

She wants people to know how much abuse can hurt.

“I feel like maybe some [trolls] really want to see me down, which… I am. So you’ve won. But I will also prove a point that trolling can’t be allowed.”

Finally, she says she wants social media users to really, really think hard about anything they have written before pressing send.

“Would you say this to them if they were sat across the table? Would you say things to their family and their friends? Would you be happy if the consequences were really bad?

“It could just take that one comment that tips someone over the edge. Would you want to be accountable for that?”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

Entertainment

Glastonbury: Shania Twain says she wants to ride a horse to her set

Published

7 hours ago

June 26, 2024

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Glastonbury: Shania Twain says she wants to ride a horse to her set

Shania Twain is hoping to arrive for her Glastonbury set in style by riding a horse to the Pyramid Stage – but admits she’ll “have to find out if it’s allowed”.

The country music icon will be following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, and Johnny Cash as she takes to the stage for the prestigious legends slot on Sunday – usually a highlight of the festival weekend.

Asked if she had any special plans for her show, the Canadian singer told BBC Breakfast: “I love horses. I love animals, I’m going to see if there’s a horse around I can borrow.”

She continued: “I’d love to ride a horse to the stage… I’ll have to find out if it’s allowed.”

It wouldn’t be the first time the 58-year-old singer has incorporated a horse into her performance.

Twain used to sing her hit “You’re Still The One” while sitting on the back of a white horse during her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace between 2012 and 2014.

She was also seen riding a horse through a yucca plantation in the video for her 2005 single Don’t!.

Twain also often appears on social media with her own horses – including three Tennessee walking horses and two American saddlebreds.

Meanwhile, Twain has suggested her Glastonbury show will be free of guest appearances – ruling out sharing the stage with Harry Styles two years after they sang together at Coachella.

The singer said she is “overwhelmed” to be following in the footsteps of music icons such as Barry Gibb, Kylie Minogue, and Lionel Ritchie – who have all graced the stage for the Legends slot in previous years.

She said: “It’s been explained to me that it is a real event, a once in a lifetime thing. Everyone keeps going: ‘Let me tell you about it. Let me tell you about my experiences’.”

Twain’s 1997 album Come On Over is one of the top 10 best-selling global albums of all time and its singles, including Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) and From This Moment On, will likely feature in her Glastonbury set list.

She said: “I’m planning on getting up there and having so much fun. I’d love to be able to sing with everyone and be a part of the journey of the crowd. So, I’m going to do everything familiar. I want to do the hits. I want to do what they know.”

Thousands of festival-goers will descend on Worth Farm in Somerset as the world-famous festival opens its gates on Wednesday.

The Met Office has said campers can expect “mostly warm, dry and settled” weather for the next five days, but scattered showers could begin from day one and last until the end of the weekend.

This year’s event will see headline performances from global stars including pop singer Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and American singer Sza.

Other attractions at the 900-acre festival, which runs from Wednesday until Sunday, include speeches, film screenings and Q&As, circus performances, comedy sets and more.

Entertainment

Glastonbury: Gates open to festival – but rain could be on the way

Published

7 hours ago

June 26, 2024

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Glastonbury: Gates open to festival - but rain could be on the way

The gates to this year’s Glastonbury Festival have opened – with revellers scrambling to find the best camping spots.

A brass band played as organiser Emily Eavis led the countdown for the start of the world-famous music event.

However, arriving alongside the army of campers at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, could be scattered showers, forecasters warn.

Festival-goers have been told to expect “mostly warm, dry and settled” weather for the next five days.

But scattered showers could begin from day one and last until the end of the weekend, according to the Met Office.

As in previous years, there will be no amplified entertainment on Wednesday, with the main music stages not kicking off until Friday.

This year’s headliners include pop star Dua Lipa, British rock band Coldplay, and American singer Sza, while Canadian country star Shania Twain will play the coveted legends slot.

Other attractions at the 900-acre festival, include speeches, film screenings and Q&As, circus performances, and comedy sets.

Rock band Squeeze open the Pyramid Stage on Friday at midday, followed by rising star Olivia Dean, K-pop group Seventeen and singer Paul Heaton.

Later, PJ Harvey and LCD Soundsystem will warm up for Dua Lipa ahead of her main stage debut.

The 28-year-old star is expected to treat revellers to a selection of her hit songs, including Houdini and Training Season from her third studio album, Radical Optimism, released earlier this year.

On Saturday, the main stage will welcome Nigerian stars Femi Kuti and Ayra Starr, followed by US ’80s chart-topper Cyndi Lauper and rock band Keane.

Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka and British rapper Little Simz will play in the evening before Coldplay top the bill.

It will be the band’s first appearance since 2016 and make them the first act to headline Glastonbury five times.

The main stage on the final day will open with a performance by Interlinked Ballet, with Seasick Steve and Paloma Faith set to play in the afternoon.

They will be followed by Twain, who is expected to play her hits including Man! I Feel Like A Woman!, You’re Still The One and That Don’t Impress Me Much.

The country star follows in the footsteps of artists such as Dolly Parton, Kylie Minogue and Diana Ross in the prestigious slot.

US singer and actress Janelle Monae and Nigerian singer Burna Boy will take over for the evening session before SZA closes out the Pyramid Stage with her hits including Saturn and Kill Bill.

The US singer, real name Solana Imani Rowe, who was named international artist of the year at the Brit Awards in March, will be making her festival debut this year.

A number of spots across the schedule have been left as “TBA”, including a space at 6pm on Saturday on the Woodsies stage.

In previous years, acts such as the Foo Fighters, The Killers and Radiohead have surprised festival-goers in these secret slots.

The festival will also pay tribute to DJ Annie Nightingale, the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1, who died in January at the age of 83.

Entertainment

England at Euro 2024: The football songs you need to know (and some you don’t)

Published

11 hours ago

June 26, 2024

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England at Euro 2024: The football songs you need to know (and some you don't)

Everyone seems to know the score, they’ve seen it all before…

Or have we? Now England have got through the group stage, it’s time for the nation to start getting its hopes up way too early – yes, there are still a few hurdles to overcome before the Euro 2024 final, but no matter – and think about (whisper it) football possibly, maybe coming home.

We have David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie to thank for that central refrain now synonymous with England and football; a song full of unashamed nostalgia for the days of the World Cup victory (1966, you might have heard of it), perfectly capturing the mix of “oh-so-nears” pessimism since and the cautious hope that comes with being an England fan.

Released for Euro ’96, back when it was only a mere 30 years of hurt, Three Lions is still the ultimate anthem for English football.

At Euro 2020, the song was everywhere as the men’s team reached its first international tournament final since 1966 – but ended the run with the all-too-familiar agony of defeat by penalties to Italy. In 2022, England were finally crowned champions of Europe after the Lionesses beat Germany in the final – and did indeed bring football home.

So… can it stay here? Can Gareth Southgate’s men make it a double?

From a homage to former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to a celebration of baked goods, here are a few official and unofficial songs to add to your Euro 2024 playlist. After Three Lions, of course. And Three Lions ’98, because no one likes change.

We still believe…

This Time (We’ll Get It Right)

After failing to qualify for the World Cup in 1974 and 1978, 1982 was not only a big year for football but a big year for England in the charts. Frontman Kevin Keegan was no stranger to the Top 40, having released the single Head Over Heels In Love a few years earlier, and he led the squad in their promise to “get it right… this time”. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. Keegan, for his part, missed a sitter (he didn’t get it right) against the hosts and England failed to progress beyond the second group stage, despite remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament in Spain. The song charted at number two though, so every cloud.

We’ve Got The Whole World At Our Feet

“There’s not a single team that we can’t beat,” sang the England squad ahead of Mexico 1986. Unfortunately, they hadn’t reckoned with Maradona and his Hand of God. To add insult to injury, chart success also eluded them, with We’ve Got The Whole World At Our Feet only reaching number 66 (as if they needed another reminder). However, Gary Lineker did win the tournament’s Golden Boot for top scorer.

All The Way

For the Euros in West Germany in 1988, Stock, Aitken and Waterman took charge of the music, which led to this upbeat number that epitomised the pop sound of the time. Sadly, it only reached number 64 in the charts – mirroring England’s success in the tournament (they went out early after failing to win any of their games in the group stage).

World In Motion

England’s second-finest track comes from New Order, includes a magnificent rap from John Barnes and mercifully has minimal input from the rest of the squad. Released for Italia 90, this was the World Cup of Gazza’s tears, of England’s first heartbreaking penalties defeat – losing 4-3 to West Germany in the semi-finals – and of Lineker infamously getting caught short on the pitch. There aren’t many football songs that break out of the novelty bracket but this is just such a track, perfectly encapsulating the hopeful optimism of England fans without, for the most part, really sounding like a football song at all.

Eat My Goal

Not an official England track but Collapsed Lung’s football anthem Eat My Goal, released in 1996, became the soundtrack to Coca-Cola’s “Eat Football, Sleep Football, Drink Coca-Cola” advertising campaign that tied in with Euro 96.

Vindaloo

As well as the revived Three Lions, the France 98 World Cup also brought us Fat Les, aka Blur bassist Alex James, actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst. Thanks to its easy to chant “nah nah nahs” and triumphant “We’re! Gonna! Score! One! More! Than! You!”, Vindaloo was an affectionate parody that became the unofficial hit of the tournament. Featuring comedian Paul Kaye (best known as Dennis Pennis) in a video sending up The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony, also look out for David Walliams and Matt Lucas, and a young Lily Allen, who are in there somewhere.

(How Does It Feel To Be) On Top Of The World

This one was actually the official song for 98, even though it’s Vindaloo you probably remember. Featuring a medley of artists including The Spice Girls, Echo And The Bunnymen, Space and Ocean Colour Scene – aka England United – but no actual England players (apart from a few cameos in the video), the song featured a nice sing-song chorus but wasn’t quite as memorable or rousing as the other offerings that year, and charted at number nine. This was the World Cup of Michael Owen’s incredible goal against Argentina, David Beckham’s infamous red card and defeat by Argentina on penalties – all in the same game.

Meat Pie, Sausage Roll

After the success of Three Lions, football songs were cool again – which meant everyone wanted to release one. Contenders in 1998 also included Granddad Roberts And His Son Elvis, with this ridiculous song that should have been sponsored by Greggs. “Ooh, we got a corner,” is the refrain, while it ends with the bizarre line: “No wonder my wee smells like Sugar Puffs, the stress I’m under.”

We’re On The Ball

Ant & Dec took over official duties for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, hailing then manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as England’s “super Swede” and referencing captain Golden Balls and the 5-1 win over Germany in the qualifiers the previous year. Despite the single essentially being PJ and Duncan’s musical revival, England were not quite ready to rumble and lost 2-1 to eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Sven, Sven, Sven

Released a year earlier, Sven, Sven, Sven, by comedy duo Bell & Spurling, was also inspired by the 5-1 victory and the nation’s love for Eriksson at the time. Featuring women in England bikinis and dressed in Bavarian costume, the video is a reminder of how much times have changed in the last 20 years or so. The pair released an updated version, Gareth, Gareth, Gareth, for the World Cup in 2018, but it wasn’t quite as successful as their top 10 debut.

All Together Now

Written about the Christmas truce in the First World War in 1914, when soldiers from both sides put their weapons down to exchange gifts and play football in No Man’s Land, this song by The Farm was released in 1991 and has been used by numerous football teams since. Re-released for the 2004 Euros in Portugal, England were beaten by the hosts on penalties (naturally) in the quarter-finals.

World At Your Feet

The official England song for the Germany 2006 World Cup was released by Embrace, best known for hits including All You Good Good People, Come Back To What You Know, Ashes and Gravity in the 1990s and 2000s. “With the world at your feet, there’s no one you can’t beat/Yes it can be done,” sang frontman Danny McNamara. A nice effort that charted at number three and spent six weeks in the Top 40, but England were not so successful. Wayne Rooney was red-carded in the quarter-final against Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo became known as the winker – oh, and as chance would have it, they were knocked out on penalties.

Shout

While the only music people really remember from the South Africa World Cup in 2010 is Shakira’s Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) and the deafening sound of vuvuzelas, Dizzee Rascal and James Corden did also team up to release this unofficial song for England. Sampling Tears For Fears’ Shout and including the line “come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough”, the song did top the charts, but it probably won’t be remembered as one of the England greats. England went out 4-1 to Germany in the final 16, so it wasn’t the team’s greatest performance, either.

Sing 4 England

Chris “Unbelievable, Jeff” Kamara released Sing 4 England for the Euros in 2012, co-hosted in Poland and Ukraine. Harking back to the naff but lovable-sounding typical football songs of the 80s and 90s, it gets full marks for rousing positivity. “Come on and sing for ENG-ER-LAND”. We were all encouraged but sadly, we’d seen it all before, and England lost in the quarter-finals, to Italy, on penalties.

Ole (We Are England 21)

Ole was the Euro 2020 (yes, still Euro 2020, even though the tournament took place in 2021 – blame COVID) effort from Krept & Konan. A contemporary rap track that – ole, ole, oles aside – moved away from the traditional football song but still reflected the mood of the nation. Until they lost the final, to Italy, on penalties.

Sweet Caroline

Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit Sweet Caroline became a feel-good hit all over again during the pandemic in 2020, and also smashed it at the Euros. DJ Tony Perry made the decision to play the song after England made it through to the quarter-finals thanks to a win over Germany, and a fan favourite was born. In a video message, the US singer-songwriter told The Telegraph he was “thrilled” to see fans belting the song out at Wembley, saying: “Well, I hope you can do it again – here’s to England.” Because good times never seemed so good – so good, so good… until the final, that is.

Whole Again

This sugary Atomic Kitten hit from 2000 found a new audience thanks to a reworked version paying tribute to Southgate – so much so that Natasha Hamilton and Liz McClarnon went viral after performing it live to football fans watching the quarter-final victory over Ukraine in Croydon, so decided to re-release it as a new single. While some might say they could have put a bit more effort in and changed the rest of the lyrics, now is not the time for nit-picking. Altogether now, positive thoughts: “Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on – football’s coming home again.” Well, it was if you were living in Italy.