Why are people so mean sometimes, when it’s so easy to be kind?
That’s the message Little Mix‘s Jesy Nelson is sending this week, after sitting down for a powerful new interview and preparing for the debut — on Thursday — of her brand new BBC Three documentary Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out. Through both avenues, the singer is very open about the negative effects cyberbullying on her life.
Related: Jesy Takes Heat For Singing Along To R. Kelly Song…
Speaking with The Guardian in that high-profile sit-down, Nelson opened up about her precarious mental position rising to the top with the all-girl group. The singer revealed how once very early on, after they had performed a cover of Nicki Minaj‘s hit Super Bass, a dive into social media proved to be disastrous.
Nelson recalled (below):
“I was very naive, I thought it would be people giving their opinion on our performance. But nearly every comment was about the way I looked: ‘She’s a fat ugly rat’; ‘How has she got in this girl group?’; ‘How is the fat one in this?'”
Ugh.
That’s Twitter in a nutshell… but instead of just blocking it out and walking away, things weren’t that easy for the singer.
Soon, she admitted, she became “obsessed” with what social media commenters and online critics were saying (below):
“I had a routine of waking up, going on Twitter, searching for the worst things I could about myself. I’d type in the search bar: ‘Jesy fat’, or ‘Jesy ugly’, and see what would come up. Sometimes I didn’t even need to do that, I’d just write ‘Jesy’ and then I’d see all the horrible things. Everyone told me to ignore it — but it was like an addiction.”
Oh no!!!
And the paradox of fame only served to further trap the beautiful young woman in a vicious cycle; as Little Mix rose further and further to prominence, she worked harder and harder to “starve herself,” thinking she had a problem. Before too long, as Nelson notes in the interview, she became “severely depressed” when she realized no matter what she did, the cyberbullying never seemed to stop.
Related: Jesy Nelson Channels Ginger Spice With New ‘Do!
At that point, as she explains in the BBC doc, things took a turn for the worst (below):
“The only way I can describe the pain is like constantly being heartbroken. I remember going to the kitchen and I just took as many tablets as I could. Then my ex, who was with me at the time, he woke up and was like, ‘Why are you crying?’ I kept saying, ‘I just want to die.'”
WOW…
Nelson was taken to the hospital after the attempt, but thankfully she was treated and released without any major complications or long-term effects. Still, her story is a sad, serious one — and nearly a tragic one, at that — when it comes to how difficult it can be dealing with online bullying and trolling.
But Wait… There’s Hope!
With Odd One Out, Nelson has flipped the switch on her bullied past, choosing instead to use her new-found strength and recovery for good.
And as you can see in the teaser clip (below), things have taken a serious turn for the better in the talented young woman’s life:
So happy for her! And this serves as another good reminder that no matter fame, or fortune, or whatever else, we’re all fighting unseen battles…
Related: Little Mix Says Record Label Told Them To Flirt With ‘Important’ Men
And here’s hoping her story — and this documentary — can help so many more people dealing with the same thing every single day!!
What do y’all think about Nelson’s big reveal here, Perezcious readers?? Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out debuts late this week, on September 12. Will U be watching??
[Image via WENN]
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