Australian TV personality Regina “Reggie” Sorensen has made a public plea to online bullies and urged victims of “keyboard trolls” to stay strong.
The two-time Big Brother winner, formerly Regina Bird, shared an open letter to cyber bullies, as she continues to face harsh comments online.
In the Instagram post shared on Thursday, Sorensen started by remembering model and TV personality Charlotte Dawson, who was targeted by cyber bullies and took her own life at the age of 47.
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She then spoke about 14-year-old Dolly Everett who was the victim of endless online bullying and died by suicide.
Sorensen shared pictures of Dawson and Everett, before the carousel of images revealed a photo of herself.
“This is me Reggie … I’m 52,” Sorensen said.
“I wish this didn’t happen to these beautiful humans, and this is happening to a bloody lot of people.
“This is happening to me and I’m not gonna let these online keyboard cowards trolls break me!
“This s*** has to bloody stop.”
Sorensen is legally blind and suffers from both retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment, and stage two Usher Syndrome, which causes deafness and hearing loss.
During her appearance on reality TV show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! last year, Sorensen opened up about the online bullying she faced from people accusing her of faking blindness.
In a previous social media post, Sorensen, who is a disability advocate, shared a screenshot of a Facebook troll accusing her of pretending to need a walking stick.
Sorensen then questioned why this kind of bullying was still allowed and raised the issue of regulating these comments on social media.
She ended her post by leaving a heartfelt message to people who have fallen victim to cyber bullying, urging them to stay strong.
“At the end of the day I just wanna say, please, anyone that’s being bullied online, please stay strong, remember who you are,” Sorensen said.
“You are special, you are worthy, you are loved.
“Anyone that has gone through or going through cyber online bullying bloody be strong and remember who you are.
“Don’t let them win.”
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 131114. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
