The Inbetweeners star, Emily Atack, has hit back at a troll who accused her of asking for attention with an Instagram photo and jokey caption.
The actor, 33, has previously been candid about her experience with unwanted attention, after she rose to fame playing Charlotte in The Inbetweeners, after which she started to get 'hundreds of messages' on a daily basis.
"It goes from teenage boys, to middle-aged men, to really old men, old, single men that are probably desperately lonely, and older men, who are married with children, and they have daughters in their profile pictures," she said.
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Atack continued: "It's just, they're allowed to just do it and I'm subjected to it, on my own, in my home. I don't have a partner, I'm by myself, and it does make me feel scared to live on my own."
Atack is keen to 'educate people' on the matter, and her recent encounter with a troll demonstrates why.
The actor took to Instagram to share a picture of her freshly styled hair after giving updates on the process on her Instagram Story.
She wrote a jokey caption alongside a mirror selfie of her showing off her voluminous locks, writing: "Big and bouncy. So is the hair. Thank you gang @pauledmonds217."
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The post has received thousands of likes, but one critical Instagram user responded to claim it was Atack's fault she received unwanted attention.
They wrote: "And then you wonder why trolls pick you up! Why would you say that if you don't like that sort of attention????!"
Atack was quick to react to the comment with a lengthy response pointing out that, even if she put 'no caption at all' on the photo, it still would have been met with 'perverted comments'.
"So it just shows it has nothing to do with me or my choices. It is not my fault some men can't control themselves. Listen to what you are saying to me," Atack wrote.
Atack's response received dozens of likes from supportive fans, and she later drew attention to her response by sharing it to her Instagram Story, writing: "I really struggle to understand how some people just don't get it.
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"Then I'm slowly realising how maybe it takes a deeper level of intelligence that some people just don't have?"
Atack has been incredibly vocal about online abuse and sexual harassment, saying 'it's completely out of control' and 'that for some reason there's this blind spot that when it's online you don't receive any consequence.'
Atack even made a documentary, Emily Atack: Asking For It that came out January this year, where she openly talks about her experiences and refuses to let the trolling interfere with the roles she takes.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Featured Image Credit: Instagram / @emilyatackTopics: Emily Atack, The Inbetweeners, Celebrity, Instagram