Radio host’s joke earns her death threats
AUSSIE radio host Ash London has been forced to take a break from social media after receiving a barrage of death threats online from One Direction fans.
The presenter, who's currently hosting a summer breakfast show with Ed Kavalee and Ash Williams on 2DayFM, sparked the ire of thousands of teenagers and Louis Tomlinson himself after joking about his "ratty facial hair" while introducing their prerecorded interview.
"Just so we're clear, because I'm a very visual guy, Ash - he's the guy with the smaller face with the short brown hair?" Williams asked her.
"Kind of like ratty facial hair ..." London replied.
"He's not Harry Styles basically," chimed in Kavalee. "He's the least popular one."
London's comments caused an immediate uproar on Twitter after the interview was shared across approximately a billion different One Direction fan sites, making her the target of a wave of horrific abuse.
- ratty facial hair
— Morgane ◟̽◞̽ (@versaillestyIes) December 11, 2017
- smaller face
- not Harry Styles
- quite skinny
- least popular of One Direction@ash_london you guys are disgusting and shouldn't count on our support anymore. I cannot believe that you said such vile things on radio, unprofessional.
Shortly afterwards, the presenter temporarily switched her Twitter to private, before going public again and posting a statement.
.@ash_london @AshLondonLIVE If you want the goodwill of One Direction fans ever again, you must issue an apology NOW for the unprofessional and disrespectful treatment of @Louis_tomlinson on your show. And even then, our goodwill is not a lock.
— Miss You by Louis Tomlinson (@newkewbytube17) December 11, 2017
"I am a music fan. I love that it brings so much passion out in people," she wrote.
The utter lack of respect displayed by your co-hosts toward Louis is inexcusable and shameful. Is that how you usually treat your guests? Not introducing their song by name and letting them be belittled and insulted?
— LouBee (@tommogotchi_xs) December 11, 2017
"This morning on air we had a great interview with Louis. As always - he was a total legend. I loved talking about how far he's come, his new music and his future which looks so bright.
The utter lack of respect displayed by your co-hosts toward Louis is inexcusable and shameful. Is that how you usually treat your guests? Not introducing their song by name and letting them be belittled and insulted?
— LouBee (@tommogotchi_xs) December 11, 2017
"We love Louis and will continue supporting him and his new music as we have always done."
Rather than defuse the situation, London's statement attracted the attention of Tomlinson, who shared the post with his 31 million followers along with the caption, "Probs best to stay on private for a bit longer love!" and a middle finger emoji.
Probs best to stay on private for a bit longer love ! 🖕
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) December 12, 2017
Unsurprisingly, the radio host was left distressed by the ongoing Twitter hate and released a second statement announcing she was "off socials for a bit".
"Tough day. A lot of people claiming I said some things which in reality I simply didn't," said London.
"What I can apologise for, is describing the quality of someone's facial hair in a lighthearted chat with my two co-hosts. For that I'm sorry. All the other stuff? Simply not true. Not me.
"I'll be off socials for a bit - the abuse and threats are a little much for me right now. I won't go on private because I don't have anything to hide. In future I'll do what I always do - stick to the music and leave any mentions of facial hair out of it."
