‘No One Signs Up For Being Abused'

Reality star Vas J Morgan tells new about his campaign to ban social media anonymity

- Anna Bailey

Since we last spoke to Vas J Morgan in July, the TV star-turned-campaigner has launched a petition to ban anonymous social media profiles. And when we call him to find out how it’s going before he dashes to the airport for a business trip to Berlin as editor of Tings magazine, his passion for the cause is clear.

“It takes two seconds to ask for identification and it can stop so many things, not just trolling,” he tells us. “The internet would be a safer space in general. All these dangerous activities that thrive online, like sex trafficking and paedophilia, would essentially be prevented if social media platforms identified their users.”

As a black gay man, Vas, 31, says he’s been a victim of horrific trolling, which has intensified since he spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. “The more vocal I’ve been, the worse it’s got,” he admits. But he’s eager to point out that celebs aren’t the only victims of online abuse.

“People might think it’s just a bunch of celebrities moaning, but what about Jill from Manchester who’s a schoolteacher being abused on Facebook?” he points out. “You don’t hear about those people until it’s too late and there’s an article saying a girl committed suicide because of internet abuse.”

Vas knows just how hard it is to put your head above the parapet – in June he wrote a post revealing the racism he’d suffered in silence on TOWIE and has created the I Am Enough fund to give a voice to others who are suffering.

Here, he talks to new about tackling the haters, making a difference and encouraging others to speak out…