Zara McDermott says that boys as young as eleven are sending her explicit messages on social media saying ‘I want to sh*g you’ and telling her to ‘come over now’.
Appearing on her BBC Three documentary, Uncovering Rape Culture, the 24-year-old, investigated whether online pornography has a part to play in sexism and rape culture in Britain.
She said that while her job as a social media model means she is lucky enough to pose for ‘glamorous photoshoots’, the images become part of an ‘online world of sexual imagery’.
The London-based reality star said her job as a social media model posting racy pics on Instagram means she receives the ‘most outlandish, forward messages’ from young boys online.
Acknowledging that they’re just trying it on, or being dared by friends, she said that it’s ‘concerning’, telling the Sun: ‘If they think it’s okay to send it to me, what are they sending to their peers?’
Zara McDermott said that boys as young as eleven are sending her explicit messages on social media telling her saying ‘I want to sh*g you’ and telling her to ‘come over now’ on a new BBC Three documentary
She said that while her job as a social media model means she is lucky enough to ‘glamorous photoshoots’, the images become part of an ‘online world of sexual imagery’
‘Working as a fashion model means I’m lucky enough to travel and do glamorous photoshoots, but it’s not lost on me that I am part of an online world of sexual imagery out there for everyone to see,’ she said.
‘I do get a fair amount of young boys from school, They’ll message me the rudest most outlandish, most forward things like ‘I want to shag you’ or ‘come to mine now’ and I’m like ‘Oh my god you’re literally 11-years-old’.
She said that while she’s ‘mindful’ posting sexualised imagery ‘does contribute to the problem’, she stressed she works as an influencer promoting brands, and does not believe that selling fashion has the same detrimental effect as ‘hardcore porn’.
Zara, who previously opened up about having a nude photograph circulated round her school as a teenager, also opened up about a sexual assault where she was ‘almost raped’ while walking home.
She said that while she’s ‘mindful’ posting sexualised imagery ‘does contribute to the problem’, she stressed she works as an influencer promoting brands
She was pinned up against a fence by a teenager wearing a school uniform in broad daylight after he followed her from the high street, only escaping when a group of adults saw the attack and came to help.
Zara recalled: ‘It was three o’clock in the afternoon, it was still light out. The guy followed me from the high street, I felt like he was from school because I could see his school uniform and see his face and see he had a really freckly face, a really boyish face.
‘He was getting closer and closer to me, I started to feel a little bit scared. I could feel him coming up behind me and I could hear him shouting at me and he said ‘I’m going to f** you right now I’m going to f** you against this fence’
‘He was like edging towards me from the pavement, he kind of pushed me up against this [fence] and then put one hand down my leggings and I was trying as hard as I could to keep them up.
Zara, who previously opened up about having a nude photograph circulated round her school as a teenager, also opened up about a sexual assault where she was ‘almost raped’ while walking home
‘Then I looked over his shoulders and could see a group of adults running towards me and then he just ran. As he was running he was continuing to shout ‘I’m going to get you, I’m not done with you, I’m gonna get you’.
The reality star said the horrific experience was made even more shocking because of the age of her attacker, estimating he was around 15.
‘This guy was a child, she said. ‘He must have been a teenager, I was so shocked at how forceful he was considering he could have been 15. He would have 100 per cent raped me.’
The assault, which took place four years ago nearby Zara’s family home in Essex, was reported to police but the offender was never found.
‘I think once it happens to you the world almost becomes a bit more sinister then you thought it was’, she said.
The reality star previously fronted the highly-acclaimed documentary Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn in which she detailed her two revenge porn ordeals.
The reality star previously fronted the highly-acclaimed documentary Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn in which she detailed her two revenge porn ordeals
The media personality was suspended from her secondary school after the photos went ‘viral’ in her community’ – an experience she confessed ‘tainted’ her teenage years.
The pictures she sent to her ex-boyfriend were also circulated among others, but this time, on a larger scale.
Zara explained: ‘I was in a relationship and we broke up and he forwarded images onto his phone. I think his friends remembered that they had those images of me and circulated them to their friends. They went worldwide.
‘You’re looking at two very different scenarios here – a 14 year old girl, when we are teenagers we don’t really think about consequences of actions.
‘We don’t forward plan, I think a lot of people can say they’ve made decisions with large consequences in their teens. When I was 21, I was a consenting adult in a trusting relationship.
‘There’s people who say you shouldn’t trust the person you’re in a relationship with and I beg to differ. Cases are so prevalent as they do trust their partners, why wouldn’t they?’