James Patrice has opened up about dealing with homophobic trolls online.
Since he shot to fame on social media a few years ago, the Dublin native has had to deal with his fair share of negativity on the likes of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Speaking to Goss.ie to mark the launch of The Live Drive-In Park N Party, James said people who “slag someone as a result of their sexuality” are “disgusting”.
The 32-year-old said: “Unfortunately there is going to be trolls everywhere.”
“I always say if someone wants to tweet or comment something, say if they don’t like a sketch I’ve done or something I present or whatever, if they want to slag my work go for it because I suppose ultimately they’re a critical eye and a critical opinion…”
“But if they’re going to use social media and those outlets as a platform just to slag someone as a result of their sexuality that’s just disgusting really, because what’s that got to do with anything?”
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James recently hosted a Picnic with Pride event at Malahide Castle as his alter ego Malahide Woman, to raise money for the Dublin Pride fund.
Sadly, the social media star had to deal with some harsh comments online when the event was announced.
James explained: “When we announced Picnic with Pride there was a few comments ‘what do I need to have this shoved down my neck for?’, ‘he’s far to camp he needs to tone it down…'”
“And I kind of think to myself; first of all that’s nothing to do with you. If you don’t like it no one is forcing you to buy the ticket and support the charity at all, it’s just unfortunate.”
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“Thankfully most of us surround ourselves with likeminded people who are kind and well spirited and wouldn’t tolerate that sort of stuff, but ultimately there are some negative nancys in the world still, some nay sayers.”
“And it’s important that we continue conversations, and we keep conversations going in order to stamp that. It’s all about being an active ally and calling stuff out,” he said.
“It’s all well and good to whack the glitter on yourself for the month of June and say oh isn’t it great. Hey it’s fantastic, Pride can be a party absolutely but it’s important to
keep that going throughout the 12 months.”
“Really keep your eye out for things, support LGBTQ2 friends and family and not even friends and family, support the community as a whole.”
The RTÉ star also offered some advice for young people who may be struggling to come out.
“Ultimately the advice I would give to younger people and anyone really who’s struggling with themselves and their identity is just, you know, take your time,” he said.
“You don’t owe anyone anything. You only owe it to yourself to be your most authentic and fabulous self so don’t do anything for anyone else, do it for you and just have a conversation.”
“There’s always someone that’s going to listen to you, there’s always someone that will understand, it could be a stranger but they’re there for you, the support is there.”
“So, have a chat, have a discussion. Let someone know I’m feeling a certain way and of course you don’t have to be certain of things, you don’t have to have a definite answer,” James continued.
“Just explain to someone that you know you can confide in I’m feeling a certain way and I just want to talk about it just to get it off your chest, it can lead to you exploring all new avenues within your sexuality and your identity.”
“It’s all about getting the conversation there with someone, getting things off your chest and realising that at the end of the day, your sexuality isn’t that big of a deal to anyone and it’s no one’s business only your own.”
James recently announced he will be hosting The Live Drive-In Park N Party in Dublin, Kildare and Galway this summer, alongside Ryan Andrews.
Speaking to Goss.ie about the event, James said: “We have everything that you can think of – we have bingo, we have Car-aoke, the Wheely big quiz…”
“My favourite part is that it’s a family day out for less than 50 quid, and it’s totally
safe because people are staying in their cars, they’re able to engage via the radio in the car.”
“So it’s a totally immersive experience but a safe experience, because I know that the country of course is thankfully progressing and I’m so excited for things to start opening up again…”
“But it’s hard to host things and do them safely with people, so this is a way to have the craic, have some fun, get a few jobs going again as well for artists, musicians and tech people.”
The drive-in show is appearing at Malahide Castle (30th July – 2nd Aug. ’21), Junction 14  Mayfield, Kildare (6th – 8th Aug. ’21) and the Black Box Galway (27th – 29th Aug. ’21)
Tickets are priced at €49.50 per car, and go on sale this Friday, July 9th at 9am from www.thelivedrivein.ie
