TV personality Scarlett Moffatt has called for social media platforms to remove the anonymity of users following the abuse directed at England footballers.
The television personality has previously spoken out about being targeted by social media trolls and has said she called the Samaritans for help at her lowest point.
She called for platforms to take action against trolling after Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were targeted with racial abuse online after missing penalties during England’s loss in the final to Italy.
Moffatt told the PA news agency: “I’m just so disappointed and angry that people think saying those things is acceptable.
“I do think that something needs to be done on social media where no one can be anonymous, because it’s just disgusting.”
She added that unless authorities “take away people’s ability to hide behind a username or a fake profile, then they are going to just carry on thinking they can do it and I think things need to be done”.
“These people need to be prosecuted, what they are saying is absolutely disgusting,” Moffatt added.
She highlighted the way Instagram flags content about coronavirus on its platform as evidence of how abusive material could be monitored.
“I don’t understand why you can’t do that when it’s just obscene words, racial slurs, death threats, all of that,” she added.
“Why can’t anything be flagged up for that?”
Moffatt said she was “so happy” after the match because England “got everything in the match we could have wanted”.
“We made the final, they are a super young team,” she added.
She also praised the players’ response to being targeted as “amazing”.
“I just think they are wonderful, wonderful people,” she said.
She added that the players are “so young” and should be “floating on a cloud, they just got to a final and it’s all been ruined by… awful people”.
Moffatt was speaking ahead of the launch of new ITV2 show Apocalypse Wow, which she stars in alongside host AJ Odudu and fellow contestants including drag star The Vivienne, Love Island’s Chris Hughes and Kimberley Wyatt from the Pussycat Dolls.
The programme sees celebrities compete in a series of physical challenges in a bid to win money for charity.
She said: “It’s set in a torture dome with a slightly BDSM feel to it. It’s just really fun.”
Moffatt said she did “worse than I even thought” during the challenges.
“I tried my hardest, I’m just not a very PE, physical sort of girl. I was on the sidelines cheering everyone on.”
She added that all the contestants “pushed ourselves to the limits” during filming.
Apocalypse Wow airs on ITV2 at 10pm on Friday.
