‘Not everyone can be a size 6’: Vile response to photo of AFLW star exposed

An AFLW star has called out trolls who made comments about her body after she posted a photo of herself after a loss to social media.

Sarah Perkins called out trolls for body shaming her. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Sarah Perkins has hit back at trolls who targeted the AFLW star after she posted a photo of herself on social media following a narrow defeat on the weekend.

Gold Coast lost a nailbiting clash against St Kilda by three points on Sunday and a devastated Perkins apologised to Suns fans, whose team sits two spots outside finals contention in eighth.

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Yesterday hurt a lot but the sun came up this morning & I’m ready for a big week on the track and in front of goals.
Sorry to the @GoldCoastSUNS fans but please stick with us. pic.twitter.com/VAgNxiVGk4

— Sarah Perkins (@sarahperkins28) February 28, 2022

There was plenty of support for Perkins and the Suns but some responses to her tweet were disgusting and the 28-year-old called out social media users for body shaming her.

Perkins tweeted: “2 from 2 this evening … anyone other bloke/fake account wanna comment on my size, body shape, athleticism? More than happy to hear feedback about my football skill/ability but unfortunately not everyone can be a size 6!”

Underneath her words Perkins included a screenshot of some comments taking aim at her body shape — as Collingwood AFLW star Steph Chiocci came to her defence.

Perkins also posted a screenshot of a nasty comment on her Instagram story, writing: “S**t like this will never get old” and adding two emojis of a hand sticking its middle finger up.

This needs to stop. Photo: Twitter.

Perkins called out her critics. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The footy world was quick to wrap its arms around Perkins after she exposed some of the grim replies to her photo.

Chiocci tweeted: “People are just jealous they have never achieved anything worth posting about. Got your back always. Can’t wait to see you kick more snags from 50m out and lay tackles like a boss.”

Sports broadcaster and podcaster Neroli Meadows wrote: “You’re a ripper human hun. Remember that above all else. Those who know you, love you.”

Sports reporter Dominique Loudon said: “You’re amazing to watch Sarah! Unfortunately, there will always be undesirables on social media. As Brene Brown says, ‘If you’re not in the arena also getting your a** kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback’.”

Journalist Mark Gottlieb said of the abuse directed towards Perkins: “This is vile. We have such a long way to go as a society.”

Sarah Perkins is an AFLW drawcard. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

The body shaming of Perkins is reminiscent of the shocking comments directed at Tayla Harris when a photo of the Melbourne star playing for her former club Carlton went viral.

The talented forward was snapped in full flight letting rip with a drop punt in 2019 but the image drew a horrifying response that sparked widespread outrage.

Harris took a stand against trolls who made disgusting remarks about her body and has been an outspoken advocate against cyber bullying ever since.

In February the 24-year-old opened up about a second wave of cyber abuse that left her in a “worse mental state” than when the famous photo of her kicking a footy was flooded with repulsive sexual and abusive comments.

Harris gave evidence at the parliamentary inquiry into social media and online safety where she spoke about an online “pile on” attacking her character when she moved from Carlton to Melbourne last year.

“A more recent one that happened that I haven’t’ really spoken about to be honest was when I left the Carlton Football Club to go to the Melbourne Football Club,” Harris told the inquiry.

“The narrative was created that I wanted all this money, which wasn’t true, which was the most frustrating part.”

Harris said she was flooded with “nasty and hurtful” comments and private messages from people saying it was unbelievable she could request an obscene amount of money.

“The laughable part was it was probably just a regular wage,” she said.

“So that was the concerning thing, that people, particularly men, are just so obsessed with the idea that women do not deserve anything near what the men deserve.

“And so that one probably got me in a worse mental state than the previous one.”

Tayla Harris in full flight is something special. Pic: Michael Klein

This photo sparked some shocking replies. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media)

With NCA NewsWire

Originally published as ‘Not everyone can be a size 6’: Vile response to photo of AFLW star exposed