Marty Guilfoyle has shared an important message about the impact of trolling on a person’s mental health.
The Spin 1038 host thanked his Instagram followers for the support he has received in recent days, following major online backlash after he joined “Ireland’s first TikTok house”.
Ahead of his return to the radio station on Sunday, Marty took to his Instagram Stories to promote kindness after a tough number of days.
“I do need to say a massive thank you because I’m in a very fortunate position where it is impossible for me to get back to everyone,” he said.
“If you DMed me something kind on Instagram, if you tweeted me something kind, if you DMd me on Twitter something kind…you have no idea how much it meant to me.
“I saw it all – I really really did, and I’m sorry that I can’t back to everyone. But it really made the last two days so much easier.
“Last thing I’ll say… Not many people can say 2020 ‘Whoo yeah – what a year, I’m having a great time!’ So, some of us just are not strong enough to go on the internet and see something horrible wrote about us.
“So can we just not do that? And can we all just get through this year and at least we can say we all did it aye? So yeah, I’ll say no more on it.”
Last week, Marty was announced as a member of ‘The G.O.A.T House’ – a content creator house based in South Dublin.
Marty joined nine other TikTok stars in the house – including Shauna Davitt, Andrea Camila, Lewis Kelly, Thomas Arnold, Jake Brown, Ryan Mar, Lauren Whelan, Leila Ecker, and Nia Gallagher.
However, the radio presenter’s decision to move into the house sparked some backlash on social media – as some people pointed out the age gap between Marty and some of the younger members.
Responding to the backlash in a statement posted on social media, Marty confirmed he has since left The G.O.A.T House, as he addressed the nasty comments he’s received online.
Marty wrote: “Around two weeks ago, I was invited by someone my own age to join a collaborative TikTok project inspired by ones like it in the UK and America.”
“Whether you’re familiar with with TikTok or not, it’s responsible for the biggest shift in music distribution in the last decade, and it can make or break a career. You might only know me as a radio presenter, but my passion is my own music.”
“The project sounded like a bit of fun, but if it went well it could have a huge impact in my work. There’s still lots of room for innovation around TikTok, so even if it came to nothing at least I’d get to meet some like-minded people in that space,” he continued.
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I promise it's nothing to do with being a vegetarian. pic.twitter.com/7bTSD6ZOdD— Martin Guilfoyle (@MartyGuilfoyle) September 4, 2020
“When I signed on I had no idea who was going to be in the house with me, and I took a leap of faith. Fast forward three days and suddenly I’m the number one trending topic in the country, which absolutely wild to me – it’s a content collaboration project, and it’s not like there’s nothing else going on in the world.”
“Maybe you think it’s stupid. Fine. Maybe you think I’m stupid. Fine. I can take a slagging as well as the next guy. But what’s really upset me are suggestions that signing on for a work project with a group of adults was somehow weird or even predatory,” Marty wrote.
“Like I said, I can take a slagging, but not everyone can, and especially not to this extent. At this stage, my concern is that it might start to affect other people involved, so I have left the house and no longer have any connection to the project.”
“I wish everyone there the best of luck, I hope they have an amazing time, and I can’t wait to see what comes out of the collaboration,” he added.
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