Cruel trolls behind a torrent of social media abuse aimed at the Duchess of Sussex are unmasked today.
As Kensington Palace aides express mounting concern over the issue, The Mail on Sunday has traced some of those involved in a Twitter hate campaign against Meghan, including the use of the hashtag #MEGXIT.
While cultivating an image of respectability in their communities, the trolls secretly post a stream of bile against the Duchess. Even when confronted, most were unapologetic.
Abuse: Jessie Tyson, who moved to Canada, harangues Meghan for ‘having dirty hair and nails’ and ‘filthy shoes’
Slurs: McLain Rose uses the profile ‘Hurricane McLain’ and has retweeted claims that Meghan’s ‘bump is fake’
The investigation comes just days after it emerged that Palace staff have been forced to delete a stream of disgusting posts from its social media channels.
Royal aides last night said they were increasingly worried not only by the social media attacks on members of the Royal Family, but between rival camps of supporters.
A Palace source said: ‘We take any threats and abuse raised to our principals very seriously, but our main concern is actually the level of hostility that commenters were directing to other commenters and the upset that was causing.’
Facade: Mercedes Dawson (left) is regarded as a pillar of the community in Philadelphia, but sent vile tweets about Meghan. Sharing the hate: Deanne Masters (right) uses her blog to share outrageous anonymous posts
Such troublemakers include McLain Rose, a 23-year-old legal assistant whose mother is a former US attorney in North Carolina.
On her social media accounts, she details a lavish lifestyle, including sipping champagne in the first-class sections of jets and taking exotic holidays. But she also uses the profile ‘Hurricane McLain’ to denigrate Meghan.
In one post comparing Meghan unfavourably with the Duchess of Cambridge, she wrote: ‘Catherine is so sweet and genuine… Nothing like that other bitch, who shall not be named. #MEGXIT.’ In another, she calls the Duchess of Cambridge ‘a true Royal, unlike the trash Harry dragged in’.
Concern: Victoria Iglesias now fears she may be ‘torn apart’ over her attacks
Like many trolls, she spouts the ludicrous slur that the Duchess is fabricating her pregnancy, by retweeting the post: ‘Meghan’s bump is fake as f***.’
Showing no contrition, McLain said last night: ‘I would rather be a troll standing up for something I believe in than a blind follower.’
Jessie Tyson, an elderly British author who moved to Canada in 2000, issued an equally brazen defence of her posts about Meghan, who she has labelled a ‘floozy Flopsy’.
In a comment beneath a video of Meghan with the Queen, Tyson – who describes herself as a ‘spiritual Christian’ who ‘abhors all forms of cruelty’ – harangues the Duchess who, she says, ‘has had no training to fit into British society, let alone Royal family. Not that she cares, she doesn’t even comb her hair! OFF WITH HER HEAD then she will have no more hair trouble.’
Asked about her posts, Tyson said: ‘I love the Royal Family. Then she [Meghan] came along. She dresses like a teenager, she has dirty hair and nails, filthy shoes, and she breaks Royal protocol.’
Palace staff have been forced to delete a stream of disgusting posts from its social media channels made against Meghan
To fellow parishioners in Philadelphia, Mercedes Dawson is a pillar of the community, but her tweets about Meghan include: ‘Harry made her famous… D list actress, all she knew to do in Suits was to take off her clothes.’
Dawson, who is believed to have won an award for her work in a care home, did not respond to requests for comment. However, an unidentified woman who called from a blocked number to address questions about her posts said: ‘Out of a million-odd people why did you single me out? Back off. I have nothing to say.’
Married mother Victoria Iglesias loves to share family snaps from trips to Disneyland on Facebook, but she is similarly keen on traducing Meghan. One of her outrageous and libellous tweets reads: ‘She has zero talent. Never heard of her before she became Harry’s legal hooker. Even her x rated films are horrid.’
When contacted for comment, Iglesias, from Los Angeles, ironically expressed concern that she might be condemned on social media. ‘There’s a lot of trolls on Twitter who would tear me to pieces if they found me,’ she said.
Meanwhile, Deanne Masters, from Florida, uses her blog, Jerseydeanne.com, to share outrageous anonymous posts from others, including fake claims Meghan has slept with people for drugs. ‘She is a public servant who was not elected and people do have a right to criticise their representative,’ Masters told this newspaper. Veoniss Melissa Houston uses the pseudonym Vintage Scorpio 1975 to post disparaging remarks about Meghan on the Jerseydeanne blog.
Last week, she wrote: ‘She makes trailer park trash look good. She makes drug addicts in an abandoned house look good.’
Asked to explain her posts, she said: ‘I am African American also, so I do not hate her. There has been times when I read the blogs and I comment and sometimes I do go a little bit too far.’