Gogglebox's Tom Malone Jr says girlfriend receives racist abuse "every single day"
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Former Gogglebox star Tom Malone Jr has revealed that girlfriend Bryony Briscoe receives "persistent" racist abuse on social media.
The TV star, who moved in with his girlfriend last year, has revealed in a new interview that they have also received abuse as a couple for their interracial relationship.
"At the start of the lockdown last year, obviously the George Floyd situation happened and we were both very vocal about Black Lives Matter," he said (via The Sun).
"For people who were obviously opposed to that, their easiest way to hit back at what we stood for and target the fact that she's obviously mixed race and has heritage on both sides.
"It's a lot, even now we still get it. It's not just her as well, we get it a lot as a couple. People saying things about us being an interracial couple. It can be a bit much, it can definitely be too much."
Tom admitted that it was "a shock how strong it was and how persistent people were", explaining: "People would make one fake account and you'd block it and then another one pops up – it's clearly the same person with fake pictures and stuff. They'd do it three or four times in a row, they keep doing it.
"When it's once in a blue moon you can kind of ignore it and it doesn't really bother you but when it's overwhelming and multiple comments every single day on every single post.
"If you go on my TikTok, I still reply to comments that are racist. They will comment on an old post about Black Lives Matter. I literally just got one about five minutes ago."
Tom continued: "I am lucky enough that I have a platform so I am going to speak about this and make people aware of the fact that it still goes on – it's still this bad because a lot of people like to believe that there is not much racism in the UK anymore.
"But there is, there is a lot and it might get brushed under the carpet and it might not be as bad as it has been in the past. But the people who haven't experienced it in the past, this is very, very bad."
Tom announced in February that he had left Gogglebox after six years on the show.
For more information on how you can support Black Lives Matter, please visit its official website or donate here. Readers can also donate to the UK anti-discrimination group Stand Up To Racism, and the Unite Families & Friends Campaign, which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
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