MRS BROWN’S BOYS actor Rory Cowan has told of the homophobic abuse he has suffered by those who compared being gay to paedophilia.
The star, who plays one of Mrs Brown’s sons on the hit show, described the vitriolic comments he received from anonymously Twitter trolls.
Describing one of the more hurtful exchanges on Twitter, Cowan said the personal attacks were like a “kick in the stomach”.
Detailing the online comments, Cowan told Today with Katie Hannon on RTÉ Radio One: “One person said ‘I saw you at the hospital with the kids, shades of Jimmy Savile off you. If I had a child in hospital I would take them out if it they were going to be presented with people like you’.”
Abuse
In other exchanges, Cowan was told “everyone thinks I’m a paedophile”. Others remarked “Rory’ll Fix it’, alluding to the program Jimmy Savile hosted during the 80s.
Cowan said he has contacted his solicitor over the comments and they are now trying to find out whether or not the user is from Ireland before making a complaint to gardaí.
The experience has shaken the actor and he admitted he had never really thought about how toxic online abuse can be until he experienced it himself.
He added:
This was so vicious and so quick, it was like a kick in the stomach. I was actually sick to my stomach, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and all because of one response I gave to a tweet.
“This is just vile stuff.”
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