Caroline Flack’s mum says social media companies ‘fail to protect anybody’
‘You can’t get away from it now because it follows you home, it follows you on your phone,’ says Christine Flack
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Your support makes all the difference.Christine Flack, mum of the late Caroline Flack, has said social media companies “fail to protect” people like her daughter, who received a torrent of abuse online.
Television and radio presenter Flack died by suicide in February 2020, at the age of 40.
“When I was young, if you were bullied at school you could get away from it,” said the star’s mother. “You can’t get away from it now because it follows you home, it follows you on your phone.”
In comments released ahead of the documentary Caroline Flack: Her Life And Death, Caroline’s mother said social media companies “fail to protect anybody”.
She remarked that her daughter couldn’t disassociate from the negativity online. “Carrie was the worst one, she would look at her phone all the time. It took her over, what was being said on there,” her mum said of social platforms.
“There could be 30 nice things said, one bad thing said, and that was it.”
The documentary will feature the presenter’s friends and colleagues Olly Murs and Dermot O’Leary, plus her twin sister Jody, who told Caroline to change careers.
“It was completely the wrong advice because she absolutely thrived on what she did and she would have never stopped doing it because that’s what she wanted to do,” said Jody.
Presenter Flack was found dead at her home in Stoke Newington, London. She had recently been accused of assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, and was due to stand trial.
During an inquest, her mother said her daughter had been “seriously let down by the authorities and in particular the Crown Prosecution Service for pursuing the case,” reported the BBC.
“For some, it seems she had a charmed life – but the more famous she got the more mentally distressed she became,” said Coroner Mary Hassell during the August 2020 inquest.
“Her trauma was played out in the national press and that was incredibly distressing for her,” continued Hassell.
Caroline Flack: Her Life And Death covers the former Love Island presenter’s journey up to her death, and subjects including mental health and trolling, it airs at 9pm, 11 March on Channel 4.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
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