Olly Alexander hits out at ‘f**ked up’ anti-gay abuse and rape jokes

Olly Alexander has hits out at the “f**ked up” abuse he receives online, admitting it’s often forced him away from social media

The Years and Years frontman, who recently revealed he’s previously been spat at in the street because of his sexuality, speaks at length about LGBT issues in a cover profile in this week’s edition of NME.

“I get trolled,” he admits. “The usual stuff – sometimes it’s homophobic, like gay hate. But I don’t understand why people ‘@’ me on Twitter to say ‘Olly Alexander can’t sing’ or ‘Olly Alexander, you’re ugly as f**k’.

“If we’ve been on TV I don’t go on Twitter for a while after. I get some people who are really gross and make rape jokes about me.

“It’s f**ked up. That’s why I can’t read too much anymore because I don’t need to be seeing that shit.”

The 25-year-old goes on to say that he cares more about speaking up for LGBT issues and mental health than maintaining an aloof pop star aura.

“There was just this stage where I realised that people were listening to what I was saying and I could actually say something I believe in and, like… why wasn’t I doing that?” he says.

“It’s not because I think I have a responsibility as a popstar or whatever; it’s because I think I have a responsibility as a human being.

“I care more about that than trying to maintain a distance or keep any kind of mystique going as an artist.”

You can read the full interview with Olly in this week’s issue of NME, out tomorrow (April 8).

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