Clown inundated with QAnon-inspired threats after going to Uvalde to help shooting victims
‘I’m afraid that what happens if one day I go somewhere and I’m subject to abuse’
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Your support makes all the difference.A clown was inundated with QAnon-inspired threats after she went to Uvalde to help victims of the school shooting in the town earlier this year.
Bippy the clown received a racist voice message on her business number after visiting the Texas town.
“I’ve even thought about quitting clowning around. I’ve even thought about not doing it anymore,” she told KPRC, asking that her real name not be used.
She has been working as a clown since 1992 and she visited Uvalde after the 24 May shooting at Robb Elementary School.
The performer, a Black woman, noted that a racial slur was used in the voicemail. She’s now concerned about her safety.
“You’re a paedophile. You’re a paedophile,” the voicemail said before the racial slur was heard.
The entertainer said she wants to know why the voicemail was left on her business line.
“Everything I do with the kids is to make people happy,” she told KPRC. “So when I heard it I didn’t think that I heard it right the first time and I just kept listening to it over and over.”
The entertainer said that the day after she received the derogatory voicemail, she got an odd call from someone trying to get her to come to a location but wouldn’t share their contact details.
“I go into people’s homes, I have to deliver bounce houses, popcorn by myself at times. I go into their backyards, to venues by myself,” she said. “I’m afraid that what happens if one day I go somewhere and I’m subject to abuse.”
She reported the call to the Houston Police Department, who have been unable to track the phone number for the voicemail, according to KPRC.
During the shooting in Uvalde, 22 people were killed, including the gunman, and 18 people were injured.
The police response was heavily criticised, with the school district’s police chief losing his job.
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