Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says online trolls who targeted women’s Aussie rules football star Tayla Harris are “cowardly grubs,” after they subjected the player to sickening abuse over a picture of her in action.
Trolls launched a series of hate-filled posts about Carlton forward Harris after a picture of her was shared online in which she is seen punting the ball at goal during an AFL women’s league game against the Western Bulldogs at the weekend.
Harris, 21, later said the insults could be compared to “sexual abuse,” branding those behind them “animals.”
Australian PM Morrison has now joined the chorus of condemnation with an animal analogy of his own, labeling those dishing out the abuse “cowardly grubs.”
“I think they’re cowardly grubs, who need to wake up to themselves,” he said in Melbourne on Thursday.
“Would they say it to our face? No, they haven’t got the guts to do that. They’re cowards. They’re weak.
“They are acting out some sort of hatred in a way which really just lessens them as people,” he added.
Morrison also called the action shot of Harris a “cracker” photo – joining in the praise for how the youngster has handled the situation.
Harris herself spoke out against the abuse earlier this week, saying: “The comments I saw were sexual abuse, if you can call it that, because it was repulsive and it made me uncomfortable.”
Aussie broadcaster the Seven Network also came under fire after it removed a social media post featuring the image after the trolls descended.
The network was condemned for seemingly backing down in the face of the vitriol, and later republished the picture as well as an apology for deleting it.
Harris has won support from various high-profile figures in Australia, while the man behind the photo, Michael Willson, later resposted the entire sequence of shots behind the scene, writing: “Take this, trolls.”
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