A body positive influencer who was mistaken for Declan Rice’s girlfriend Lauren Fryer after she met the Arsenal star at a kit launch says she’s received so many negative comments she’s had to take a break from social media.
Football fan Felicity Hayward – who was Britain’s first plus-size model – attended an Adidas and Arsenal launch of the Premier League club’s third kit last week and posed for a photo wearing the new shirt with the club’s star midfielder during a ‘meet and greet’.
After sharing the image online with her 286,000 followers, Hayward, 37, says the photo was re-captioned by others to suggest it showed Rice with his long-term girlfriend Lauren Fryer – and was then widely shared across social media.
Since the photo went viral, the influencer, speaking in a video online, said ‘the amount of trolling I’ve suffered in the last 24 hours has been the worst I’ve ever had in my whole career’.
Hayward said she was subjected to hundreds of comments ‘about my appearance and my weight’, saying: ’95 per cent of them are utterly disgusting and they’re coming from full grown men’.
In 2024, Lauren Fryer, who has been dating Rice since they were in their teens and shares a son, three, with the player, deleted all of her Instagram pictures after receiving a barrage of abuse online over her appearance.
Fryer was taunted over her weight, and told the England international ‘could do better’. While the WAG still has 99,000 followers on Instagram, her profile has been private since the incident.
Body positive influencer and model Felicity Hayward posed for a photo with Arsenal star Declan Rice at a launch event for the Adidas Arsenal third kit last week – and the image quickly went viral ‘for all the wrong reasons’
The 37-year-old, was shot to fame as Britain’s first plus size model in 2011, says she’s been subjected to ‘utterly disgusting’ comments about her appearance since the image was shared online
After Felicity Hayward posted the image, it quickly went viral – but with an incorrect caption claiming the influencer was Lauren Fryer
Hayward said of the social media slurs she’s experienced: ‘Men need to do better. Even if people thought I was his partner, the way people are speaking about my body online, regardless of who they think is in the image, is utterly disgusting.’
The model received dozens of positive comments from supporters following the video post, with one writing: ‘Take no notice, you are beautiful.’
Daily Mail columnist Bryony Gordon responded: ‘I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this. You’re wonderful and I so appreciate you (also v jealous you got to go to the kit launch and meet Rice!)’
Another fan added: ‘Don’t ever let the haters win. Body confidence is everything.
‘It infuriates me that people think they have the right to put people down like they’re perfect!’
In another football-related trolling incident last week, a host of pundits, former footballers and clubs showed their support for a young teenager who was hit with a barrage of vile abuse after signing her first professional contract.
It should have been one of the happiest days of Skye Stout’s life when she signed for Scottish side Kilmarnock on Thursday last week, with the club announcing the news on their official social media pages.
But just hours after sharing the first pictures of Skye in the blue-and-white kit, Kilmarnock decided to take down the post after a host of trolls flocked to the comments section to mock the young footballer over her facial acne.
The shocking wave of abuse has however prompted a number of stars from not only the world of football, but also the entirety of sport, to rally around Skye.
Declan Rice and girlfriend Lauren Fryer – the loved-up couple, who share a son, Jude, have been dating since their teens
Fryer changed her Instagram profile from public to private after receiving abuse online; pictured with son Jude at an England match in 2022
Arsenal fan and model Felicity said the vast majority of abuse she’d received had come from men. Right: Some of the comments she was subjected to
And the teenage footballer quickly gave the perfect response to her online trolls: by letting her football do the talking.
Bouncing back in style, she silenced them during Kilmarnock Women’s Scottish Women’s Premier League 2 match against St Johnstone on Sunday.
Indeed, the midfielder stepped up and scored a first-half free-kick to make it 4-2.
The trolling over her unveiling photos was first brought to light by football organisation Team Grassroots, who said the posts were deleted after a few hours.
They said on X: ‘Please send your love and support to 16-year-old Skye Stout from Scotland. And don’t let the ignorant bullies win.
‘Yesterday, the official page of the Scottish club Kilmarnock women’s team announced the club had signed a contract with 16-year-old midfielder Skye Stout.
‘A grassroots player signing her first pro contract should have been a moment to cherish for her; however, Skye was forced to endure ridicule from ignorant and disrespectful fans who began to humiliate her over her facial acne.’
Another football-related social media bullying story also emerged last week, when teenager Skye Stout suffered horrific abuse after her new club, Kilmarnock, posted photos of their latest signing online – but she had the perfect riposte when she scored for her new team
‘Things escalated to the point where the club decided to delete all posts mentioning Skye Stout in an effort to stop the bullying from haters.’
Underneath the post, a host of journalists and former players united behind Skye.
Jamie Carragher wrote: ‘Good luck Skye.’ Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen added: ‘BE THE BEST, Skye! Go get it!!!’
‘Sending our support to Skye, good luck for the new season and an exciting first year in senior football,’ Exeter City Women’s official account posted.
Former Scottish First Minister Hamza Yusef also voiced his support, dubbing the trolls ‘sad’ and ‘pathetic’.
He posted: ‘Skye Stout has just signed for Kilmarnock. At 16 she has already achieved more than her trolls ever will.
‘Imagine being a grown man abusing a 16-year-old? What a sad, pathetic, unhappy life these trolls have.’
