Bobby Norris emotionally opens up on the horrific online abuse and ‘death threats’ he faced due to his sexuality after starring on TOWIE

Bobby Norris has opened up emotionally about the horrific online abuse and death threats he faced after starring in The Only Way Is Essex.

The TV personality, 38, shot to fame when he joined the cast of the ITVBe reality show in 2012 and stayed on the series for nine years before leaving for good in 2021.

But while there were positives to being on the show, Bobby reflected that he had gone through some really dark times as social media developed, with trolls targeting him for his sexuality.

Speaking with his FUBAR radio co-star Ellen Coughlan on Halloween special program Politics Uncensored, Bobby opened up about the vile messages he received after filming the TV show.

He shared, “I love social media, but I’ve been through it, and this is actually something, I’m not sure if a lot of people will know, but I think in 2019 I was on a big traveling reality show at the time, and received a tremendous amount of abuse on social media, mainly because of my sexuality.

The TV personality, 38, shot to fame when he joined the cast of the ITVBe reality show in 2012 and stayed on the series for nine years before leaving for good in 2021. [pictured on the show in 2012]

“There was this one, I think another death threat came in.” And when I say that, it sounds so flippant, but it was literally just another person standing in front of my house and going to petrol bomb me.”

He continued to talk about his ordeal, adding: “It was a difficult time. I have thick skin. So I never lost any sleep over it. And I was very aware of it. I thought: I can handle this.

“But I know thirteen or fourteen year old Bobby wouldn’t have been able to handle it. They didn’t just say, Bob, I don’t like your hair. I don’t like your blow-dry today, or I don’t like that Louis Vuitton bag. No, we’re talking about very dark things.’

As a result of the homophobic abuse he suffered online, Bobby campaigned for a change in the law to make online homophobia a specific offense, as the then current legislation was passed before the internet ‘as we know it’.

Bobby explained his campaign efforts: “I created a petition in my bedroom. And so I think this was 2019, so I’ve been campaigning for, I think about four or five years.

“Well, yeah, it’s been in law for a year now, yeah, to set a goal or to have some kind of legislation around how people can speak online.”

On the outcome of his campaign, he continued: “I went to Downing Street. I have been to Parliament several times for debates, and fortunately after four or five years of campaigning it has become law, and it is the Online Safety Act.

“It’s not about the snowflake generation saying they don’t like something about you. It is not based on opinions. We’re talking about threats of violence, threats of violence, discrimination, dark things.”

But while being on the show had its positives, Bobby reflected that he went through some really dark times as social media evolved, with trolls targeting him for his sexuality.

Speaking to his FUBAR Radio co-star Ellen Coughlan on the Halloween special political program Politics Uncensored, Bobby described the vile messages he received after filming the TV show [pictured on TOWIE with Ferne McCann, Billie Faiers and Gemma Collins]

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Bobby has previously opened up about the online abuse he has faced, revealing in 2020 that he was taking a break from social media as a result.

The star admitted that he left the platform after receiving both death and acid attack threats for being gay.

Speaking FUBAR radio At the time, the media personality also addressed the impact of the Be Kind campaign, as he claimed people were ‘starting trolling again’ just months after the death of Love Island presenter Caroline Flack.

In an interview with former presenters Joanna Chimonides and Stephen Leng on Access All Areas, Bobby explained: ‘It’s so disappointing that something that is set up to be a positive place is tarnished by trolls who are clearly getting something out of it.

Bobby has previously opened up about the online abuse he has faced, revealing in 2020 that he was taking a break from social media as a result

“There’s a double-edged side to it where you don’t really want to get into it and give them a platform. But also… it’s almost strange not to do it.’

‘It’s absolutely horrible and vile. To the point where from Saturday night to sort of Monday morning I was like, ‘I’m going to take a break from social media, this is so full.’

It comes after Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Win star Jason Fox revealed Bobby unexpectedly won his during his stint on the show.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the TV hunk has revealed that the celebrity managed to do the unthinkable and completely change his stance, going from appearing ‘useless’ to leaving Jason ‘quite impressed’.

Looking back on the most recent season of the show, the former Royal Marine and SBS, 48, revealed that Bobby won him over and was ‘easily the standout person to make the biggest improvement on the show’.

While Bobby was forced to leave the show after a brutal challenge took a wrong turn, Jason singled him out as the contestant who left a lasting impact.

The reality star was fired from the Channel 4 program after suffering an injury during a wrestling match.

During an SAS training event to raise awareness for the Armed Forces charity SSAFA, Jason revealed that he initially did not have high expectations for Bobby, but now regards him as a ‘tough guy’.

He said, “On the last show that just aired, there was a guy named Bobby Norris, and I didn’t know who Bobby was.

It comes after Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Win star Jason Fox revealed Bobby unexpectedly won his during his stint on the show

The former Royal Marine and SBS said The Only Way Is Essex star Bobby (pictured) was ‘easily the standout person to make the biggest improvement on the show’

“He showed up and for the first 24 hours he was useless. He cried for about 24 hours, and then I think he recovered quickly, and wanted to be there too, he really wanted to push himself and test himself.

“He’s not the best person we’ve ever had, but he’s the standout person who has made the biggest progress.

‘I didn’t expect anything from him. I found out he was from TOWIE. Now I think: he’s a really tough, tough guy.

‘It wasn’t just one moment. It only took a few days. I was quite impressed with the turnaround.’