As The Traitors continues to dominate TV screens across Ireland, some viewers have taken to social media to hurl abuse at the players.
Recently axed Traitor Katelyn Divilly told the Irish Independent that she disengaged from online platforms after being harassed by trolls.
Former Irish contestant Anna Duke, who participated in in the BBC version of The Traitors, said that she had a similar experience.
“I did The Traitors in January, and I was absolutely shocked about the amount of abuse that we got online,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.
“Going into it, I think because I hadn’t really engaged on online critique of shows before, it’s not something I even thought happened, because if you’re not looking out for it, you don’t really notice it.
“But I was absolutely stunned by the amount of people who messaged me horrible things, who were making videos making fun of us, who were writing these big think pieces on how we’re bad people on Twitter and Reddit.
“It really, really took me off guard; it really knocked me for six.”
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Ms Duke said that from the outside in, it is very easy to accuse the players of being too competitive, but at the end of the day, everyone is aware they’re just playing a game.
“You’re allowed to get into the spirit of the game, and you know, play,” she said.
“It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it doesn’t really say, I don’t think, too much about your character.
“But I think when you’re watching it, you actually see so little of everyone’s day, each individual character, that people are so quick to make judgements on the people as a whole.
“And actually, I don’t think we should really be doing anything apart from critiquing the gameplay.”
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According to Ms Duke, one mean-spirited video impersonating her and other contestants left her in tears.
“My personality had never been up for public debate – and I wasn’t even one of the most hated or most critiqued characters on our show,” she said.
“I wouldn’t even say I was one of the breakout stars on our show; that’s why I was so shocked by the amount of abuse that I got.
“I just remember opening my phone one day, and it wasn’t even like I was looking for it, it was just on TikTok.
“This girl made a video just kind of making fun of me – I think women sometimes get it a little bit tougher – but of me and three of the other women on my cast.”
Ms Duke said that with the amount of likes and comments the video had, “it genuinely felt like I was being bullied.”
She said with the help of therapists provided by the BBC, she feels back to her own self, but that her “heart breaks” for the current Irish cast.
Main image: Anna Duke, competitor on the BBC's Season 3 of The Traitors series. Image via BBC.
