Comedian (and superstar Olympics correspondent) Leslie Jones has experienced her fair share of online bullying, thanks to Twitter trolls which led her to take a break from the platform in July amidst an avalanche of harassing remarks. But she returned triumphantly, bolstered by a storm of supportive messages — and even later got sent to Rio for her enthusiastic Olympics commentary on Twitter.
Now she’s asking Twitter to send the same kind of support to Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, three-time gold medalist and member of Team USA’s iconic Final Five. Douglas has been dogged by criticism and online harassment over the past week, her mother even commenting that she is “heartbroken” at the level of vitriol she’s experienced on social media.
So Jones, who’s definitely been in her shoes, is rallying Twitter to send Douglas the support she deserves. Jones tweeted at her half a million followers to “show her the love” with a special hashtag, #LOVE4GABBYUSA. The good news: that hashtag has been trending on the social media service all morning, as Jones sparked an outpouring of positivity and support for the lauded athlete. (The bad news, of course, is that it had to happen at all.)
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