Left image: Scottish Beauty Blog, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Right image: Sean Reynolds, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Strictly Come Dancing’s professional dancer, Janette Manrara, believes there should be accountability for what people say on social media after the death of her close friend, Caroline Flack.
From CBBC to Love Island, Caroline Flack was one of the biggest stars of British television. On the 15th of February 2020, at aged 40, she took her own life.
Last night (17th March 2021) at 9pm, Channel 4 aired a documentary that revealed the struggles the presenter faced due to fame, mental health and social media.
What Did Janette Manrara Say?
During her time on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, Caroline formed a close friendship with the team on the show, especially professional dancer, Janette Manrara.
She said:
“We got on straight away from day one, as we had quite similar personalities, she was very loud and fun and happy. She was the kind of person that when she walked into a room you knew she’d arrived, but she was also so kind”.
With the large fame that Caroline had, came a flood of online trolling. A government poll that interviewed over 2000 people, found that 23% said they had also been targeted online.
Janette believes that more accountability needs to be held on social media in order to take control of what people say. She believes it is easy for trolls to remain anonymous and post anything with no consequences.
Janette added:
“The whole point of the internet is to remain anonymous, so you can have a voice without being judged, but there needs to be an accountability on what people say because people can create fake accounts and say what they like, but there’s a fine line between saying what you like and bullying people”.
Many people were heartbroken as they sat down to hear Caroline’s story and the reality of how trolling on social media can impact people’s mental health and the people closest to them.