Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has revealed that online bullying after her appearance on The X Factor drove her to attempt suicide. In a new BBC Three documentary, 'Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out', the 28-year-old singer says comments about her appearance made her so unhappy she 'just wanted to die'.
Nelson recalls how she took an overdose after taunts about her looks became too much to bear. The bullying began almost immediately after she appeared on The X Factor in 2011, when she was placed in the girl group alongside Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Hours after winning the show, she received a Facebook message calling her 'the ugliest thing' and saying she 'deserved to die'.
Nelson says the abuse left her unable to enjoy her early years in Little Mix. After seeing more unpleasant comments on Twitter following a 2013 performance, she says she couldn't take the pain. 'I was sat in bed crying, thinking, 'This is never going to go, I'm going to feel sad for the rest of my life, so what is the point in being here?'' she remembers. She then took as many tablets as she could, but was taken to hospital and suffered no complications.
Eight years on, Nelson says she feels much stronger and has changed her mindset about the trolls. 'Back then I just thought everyone hated me,' she says. 'But no, actually, they're doing it because they feel bad about themselves. So now when I look at trolls being nasty, I feel a bit sorry for them.'
The documentary also explores how the trolling affected her family, bandmates and relationships, and meets ordinary people who share their own stories of online bullying. 'Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out' is available on BBC iPlayer and airs on BBC One from 12 September.
