The Amanda Abbington Debate

Recently, an awful group on Twitter, hounded actress Amanda Abbington off of the social networking platform. I won’t name them, because I don’t want to give them the attention they so crave, so, I shall just refer to them simply as ‘EL’.

Anyway, EL have been gunning for Amanda for a while now. And frankly, they’re acting appallingly. They bully, lie and twist things, to gain themselves attention from celebrities and numerous people who just want an argument. The lack of support I have seen out there for Amanda Abbington is disgusting. I know that her fans are pretty die-hard when it comes to telling her how wonderful she is, but where are they now? It would appear that a very small handful have actually spoken up for Amanda.

So, what actually happened? Amanda liked a few tweets, many months ago, from people who are apparently against trans men and women. However, those names are not known, unless you are a part of the community. You ask a random person who they are, and you will get a blank stare and a shrug. Believe me, I’ve done it. I asked several people around me if they knew who the people were, and they had no idea. So basically, it was a mistake. EL jumped on the band wagon and began hounding her with tweets. Their small-minded followers came along too, and began tweeting some appalling things to Amanda. In the end, she suspended it. I ask you this, if you were receiving hundreds, maybe thousands, of tweets every day, wouldn’t you too suspend your account?

A few months went by and EL were still moaning about her, even though she had left Twitter. An unfortunate and ill-educated comment was made by Amanda on Facebook, and somehow, the group found it and screenshot it. They posted it all over Twitter and made matters a lot worse. Amanda immediately realised her mistake, came back to Twitter and apologised for the comment, and promised to educate herself and be a positive voice who will fight for the trans community. Now, if you’re a fan or follower of Amanda, you’ll know that she will fight for anyone who is facing trouble. Women, young girls, the LGBTQ community. Everyone and anyone. She is very open and accepting. I believe that the only person she wouldn’t really bother with, would be Donald Trump. But, to be honest, who would really listen to that great oaf?

Since then, Amanda has read up on the trans communities and trans rights. She has shown great strength in continuing to be herself and get on with things. No one should have their name slandered all over the internet for a simple mistake. An idiotic newspaper article was written about her, with so many in-accuracies that it could be classed as a work of fiction. Yet, it feeds people. It appears to me that people are more interested in seeing a few tweets, or a poorly written article (the spelling and punctuation were awful – as one fan hilariously pointed out), than actually looking at the facts.

Please, I implore you, read up about Amanda Abbington. Find out about her, not just as the actress you all know, but as the women behind what you see on screen. For example, did you know that she saved a fans life? The girl was extremely close to suicide, and Amanda took the time to speak to her, calm her down and the girl is still here. She even checked in on her the next morning, to make sure she survived the night. How many famous people could you say would do that?

Everyone loves animals, yeah? Well, poachers don’t. They’re amongst some of the most vile people out there. Well, last yeah, Amanda was suspended from Twitter for speaking about them. Grown men (and women) posing next to murdered animals, sharing their ‘win’ to gain them wealth. Honestly, if images like that don’t make your blood boil, then there’s something wrong with you. Amanda called them out and said it wasn’t okay. Well, some people took offence and she was suspended for 24 hours, then 48 hours, then a week. But animals don’t have a voice. They need people like Amanda to speak up. Her two gorgeous dogs are rescues. She also has a spider, two rabbits and a cat. Oh, and her daughter has fish.

Please, stop feeding groups like EL and their blind followers. Bullying is never okay. If you have an issue with someone, open up a dialogue and let them talk, before shutting them down. Google her. Watch interviews. You’ll see how wonderful she is.