Entertainment

Alice Roberts takes break from Twitter following ‘hate, bile and misogyny’

The broadcaster said discussions about sex and gender have opened her up to abuse.
The broadcaster said discussions about sex and gender have opened her up to abuse. The broadcaster said discussions about sex and gender have opened her up to abuse.

TV scientist Professor Alice Roberts has said she is “taking a holiday” from Twitter after receiving “hate, bile and misogyny”.

The biological anthropologist, who has appeared on Time Team and Britain’s Most Historic Towns, said she has faced a torrent of abuse over discussions about gender.

She had recently been tweeting about the notion of binary gender and sharing articles about sexual diversity in animals.

In her last post, she wrote: “I’m taking a holiday from Twitter for a while. I’ve argued for reason, compassion and empathy in discussions about sex and gender.

“That’s opened me up to more hate, bile and even misogyny than I’ve experienced before.

“I’m sad and shocked. Humans can be so much better than this.”

Professor Roberts is one of a string of women in the public eye who have quit social media following abuse.

Star Wars actresses Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran and Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown have all left Twitter after being trolled, while MPs including Luciana Berger, Diane Abbott, Paula Sherriff and Melanie Onn have spoken out about the abuse they have received online.