Sophie-May Dickson, an influencer from Canvey Island, Essex, has faced backlash after sharing a photo and video from the funeral of her 16-year-old daughter, Princess, who took her own life last month following two years of online abuse.
The image shows Sophie-May in a strapless white dress and matching hat, resting her head against Princess's coffin. The post came 11 days after she shared another picture of herself and her surviving daughter posing in front of the coffin. Critics accused her of letting 'vanity get a hold' of her and making the private service public.
Sophie-May defended her actions, saying: 'This was the last moment of me with my daughter. I had walked away from the casket many times, but it just didn’t feel right to me.' It later emerged that she had hired professional photographers to document the funeral.
The family first appeared on Channel 5's 'Blinging up Baby' 12 years ago. Princess was targeted by trolls on the gossip forum Tattle Life after Sophie-May stepped away from social media. Fake accounts were created to ridicule Princess on TikTok, affecting her mental health and school attendance.
Even after her death, offensive comments on Tattle Life blamed Sophie-May for the tragedy. When she reported the abuse, she was told it was a civil matter. Last month, MPs wrote to Ofcom calling for the website to be shut down, warning that Princess was unable to cope with the abuse.
Tattle Life told Metro that its community had long been concerned for Princess's welfare and condemned the 'gross misuse of this tragedy'. The forum expressed confidence in its moderation processes.
