TV and radio star Fearne Cotton has clearly had enough of toxic online critics – and she has told them exactly where they can go as she prepares for a weekend of winding down
Fearne Cotton has snapped back at online trolls who have been targeting her. The 44-year-old TV and radio host told them to f**k off. Over the years, Fearne has been targeted by cruel critics throughout her career.
She was just a teenager when she began her career – popping up on early-morning GMTV children’s programme The Disney Club when she was 15. From then on, she went on to enjoy huge success as a TV and radio host – presenting major shows including Top of the Pops and winning praise for her team captain role on ITV’s Celebrity Juice.
But with success came vicious abuse – and Fearne has spoken out about the vicious comments that she has attracted over the years in the past. In recent days, the star has appeared exasperated as some trolls have taken to sending her insults yet again.
READ MORE: Celebrity Juice’s Leigh Francis ‘done’ with TV career as he rejects lucrative offersREAD MORE: Fearne Cotton’s ex Jesse Wood looks loved-up on romantic stroll with new girlfriend
The star has not taken the abuse lying down, however, and has not minced her words while telling her critics where to go. Taking to Instagram over the weekend, the mum-of-two suggested she was quitting social media for a quieter life offline.
But then she took to Instagram Stories to assert her position, tell her bullies where to go, and revealed she has been getting support from a chart-topping friend. Posting a selfie of herself holding a mini margarita cocktail can, she wrote: “I mean, when I said bye… I meant more f**k off to the k**bs, but actually I’m not going anywhere.”
And she added: “I shall be drinking this tonight. Thanks @sophieellisbextor for my goodies. I love u.”
Fearne has endured hardship this past year, having seen her marriage to Jesse Wood end after a decade last December.
The former CBBC star has previously revealed she was unfairly targeted for her own success, having found fame as a teen. She told a newspaper in 2010: “I got a huge amount of s**t for it from the older girls. I would want to bunk off school most days. I had a tough time for a while.
“They would shout stuff across the lunch hall, bitchy comments, and throw things. It happens in every school; there’s always an element of bullying. But my friends were brilliant because they stuck up for me and would be mouthy back.”
She added: “To be doing what I’m doing now, it was worth it, in a cheesy way, to have gone through a tiny amount of s**t at school.”
She also brushed off criticism for her Radio 1 work at the time, branding her critics: “Very negative people”.
Fearne – who has won praise for her podcast Happy Place – added: “I’m a very positive person and people might find that saccharine, but that’s how I like to live my life. I have to ignore them, otherwise you would feel absolutely crushed.”
Since the collapse of her marriage, Fearne has found love with TV exec Elliot Hegarty, 53. She went public with the romance in April as they were seen kissing and holding hands in Soho.
Meanwhile, soon-to-be ex-husband Jesse, 48 – who is the son of Rolling Stones icon Ronnie Wood – has since found love with Made In Chelsea star Gemma Gregory, 39. They went Instagram official in April this year.
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.