Miss England finalist Tabitha Bennett has called for stronger action to combat online trolling after fake social media accounts used her photos to create doctored, sexually explicit images.
The 20-year-old beauty queen, from Knutsford in Cheshire, said the ordeal began four months after she was crowned Miss Lancashire in March. The harassment included fake Instagram profiles sharing altered images and sending abusive messages to her friends and competition organisers.
“I love Instagram, I spend my life on it,” Bennett told BBC North West Tonight. “Such a positive platform has such a negativity and I don’t know how they haven’t learned from previous events with other people.”
One fake post, featuring an edited image to make her appear topless, carried the caption “sexy fun by me” and a phone number. The number, however, actually linked to a charity event she was organising as part of the Miss England contest.
Bennett said the experience left her anxious and distrustful. “The abuse made me want to pull out of the competition. I didn’t know who I could trust anymore,” she said.
Her mother, Vicky Bennett, a former Miss Blackpool, has also been targeted by trolls. “A lot of it has been directed towards me, saying that I’m chasing my dream through Tabitha,” she said. “That’s absolutely not true. This has always been Tabitha’s dream since she was a little girl.”
The beauty queen reported the harassment to Cheshire Police two months ago. “A policeman came out and he was fantastic. We thought we were going to get to the bottom of this,” she said. “But when you don’t hear anything after that, you wonder how else we’ll find out.”
A Meta spokesperson confirmed that the fake accounts have since been removed, while police said the case remains under investigation.
As the Miss England grand finals approach on 20 November, Bennett fears the online abuse could intensify again. “How upsetting that something so amazing might be overshadowed by me thinking this is going to flare up,” she said.
Her case has reignited calls for social media platforms and law enforcement agencies to take online impersonation and digital harassment more seriously, especially when targeting young women in the public eye.
For Bennett, the experience has strengthened her resolve to speak up for others who face similar attacks. “It’s not just about me anymore,” she said. “I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
