Ex-Olympic boxer and Strictly star Nicola Adams has opened up about the racist and homophobic abuse she has to deal with.
The retired and openly gay champion claims people move stuff from her and security guards follow her around stores simply because she is black.
Nicola, 37, tells Women’s Health magazine: “As a black woman, I know I’m treated differently.
“Subtle things, like people moving their handbags away from me or security guards following me around shops.”
The sports queen, who is set to become one half of Strictly’s first same sex couples this season, claims she used to ignore and block trolls on social media with they posted vile hate comments.
But when her partner Ella Baig, 21, also started to become a target, the pair decided to fight back.
The retired and openly gay boxing champion has opened up about her ordeal with racism and homophobia
Nicola explained: “I’ve become resilient to the comments I get online – I’ll block people rather than reply.
“But recently, Ella (who has also been subjected to online bullying) and I decided to fight back, because maybe there are people out there who aren’t able to cope with these sorts of messages.
“People might find it comforting to know that even though I’m an Olympic champion, people still say horrible things to me.”
Nicola says she has had heartwarming messages of support from fans on Twitter saluting the fact that she and Ella were “an interracial couple”.
Nicola Adams and girlfriend Ella talking about the ‘painful’ homophobic trolling (Image: ITV)
She added: “The first time my partner Ella and I really considered that we were an ‘interracial’ couple was when a woman commented on a picture of us on social media saying she was proud of us for being one. We just feel like two ordinary people.”
* The full interview is in the November 2020 issue of Women’s Health, on sale from September 30 and also available as a digital edition.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
