This week, Constance Hall was announced as one of the many contestants joining the latest season of Dancing With The Stars.
However, the reason behind her signing on is absolutely heartbreaking. In a lengthy Facebook video, the popular blogger opened up about her struggles with cyberbullying, vowing to dance in honour of anyone who has ever been ridiculed or abused online.
Constance posted the below video via her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsconstancehall.
You can watch a snippet below.
“What I am dancing for is every single one of you, every single young person who has to go to school every day or has to catch that train, or has to go to work where you’re bullied and treated unkindly and I’m dancing for you and I want you to know it’s not okay,” she said through tears. “Rather than backing out of Dancing With the Stars and letting the fear get to me, I thought, ‘f—, these kids can’t back out of anything. I’m going to do it and I’m going to show them’.
The mum-of-four went on to share her own experience, explaining the detrimental impact the vicious and unwarranted attacks have had on her mental health and her ability to function.
“It hurts me so much I can’t sleep and some days I can’t eat,” she said. “I have had every hateful comment written about me that you can imagine and I’ve spent the last three years pretending that it didn’t affect me,” she said.
“It has affected me in ways that I can barely explain. I have been in tears, I have been depressed, I have been almost suicidal, I have wanted to stop writing, I have wanted to hide away and never show my face again,” she said bravely.”I have had every hateful comment written about me that you can imagine and I’ve spent the last three years pretending that it didn’t affect me,” she said.
After news broke she would be starring on the hit Channel Ten series, Constance said the abuse and hate instantly flooded in. In an attempt to combat cyber bullies and let others know they’re not alone their struggles, she shared a handful of comments left on her latest Instagram post.
“I wanna read about her in The West Australian obituaries,” one nasty user wrote, while another added, “She looks like a walking venereal disease that needs to invest in a bra… She looks like she needs to be bathed in a flea bath. I’m surprised her husband hasn’t hung himself.” ‘
Hoping that no one suffers in silence, she also brought attention to the charity Rafiki Mwema which raises funds to help kids who are victims of abuse.
“I would love these young kids to have a look at me and go, ‘Wow, no one hates me as much as they hate her’. With any luck, that will get through to some people,” she said, urging others to be kinder to one another.
If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, you can call beyondblue on 1300 224 636, Headspace on 1800 650 890, Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467, or the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. If it is an emergency, call 000.
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