Erin Molan breaks into tears over Twitter account in new documentary

TV presenter Erin Molan broke down in tears during a documentary after logging back into Twitter for the first time in a year following her online harassment.

TV presenter Erin Molan broke down in tears during a documentary after logging back into Twitter for the first time in a year.

In Haters Online: Erin Molan Fights Back, available to stream on Flash from 7pm tonight, the Sky News Australia host got emotional as she explained that she deleted the social media app during the height of her online abuse.

The media personality, 39, was subject to vicious online trolling during her time on The NRL Footy Show. She was even hit with violent death threats.

“I didn’t shut down my account because I knew that would mean there’d be more stories about that which would then in turn generate more abuse,” Molan told the program.

“I haven’t logged into it since and one of the things that we want to do in this story is to demonstrate just how much this stuff can damage and how hurtful it is.”

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TV presenter Erin Molan broke down in tears after logging back into Twitter for the first time in a year. Picture: Sky News Australia

The Sky News Australia host got emotional as she explained that she deleted the social media app during the height of her online abuse. Picture: Sky News Australia

It was at that point the journalist broke down in tears as she logged back into her account.

“I feel really silly. I feel physically ill now and it’s not because I’m not resilient or not strong, but what this represents is so much pain,” she said in tears.

“There’s a reason why I don’t look at comments and don’t look at things because it’s the way that I’ve survived this for so long.

“This is, I guess, a way to demonstrate and to validate for other people out there who are going through this just how damaging and then how much words can really hurt.”

She continued in tears, “Sorry, it’s just so many bad memories.”

Molan said in tears, “Sorry, it's just so many bad memories.”

Haters Online: Erin Molan Fights Back investigates the sinister and toxic side of social media, and what can be done in the fight against online abuse to make our cyber space safe.

Featuring harrowing accounts from victims of online abuse, the documentary examines how online perpetrators can go unpunished and why it has taken so long to bring about change in the laws.

Molan interviewed the parents of British teen Olly Stephens. The couple opened up about their son’s tragic death.

The 13-year-old was stabbed to death in Reading in England’s south by two teen boys who recruited a girl to lure him to a field behind his house in January 2021.

Olly’s family was preparing to go back to work and school after the Christmas break when he received a message.

He told family he would be back before dark. But a short time later, a knock at the door brought his family’s world crashing down.

“Within 15 minutes of him leaving the house there was a sharp knock on the door,” Olly’s mum, Amanda, told the program.

“My instant thought was ‘oh, he’s back soon. He’s come back quickly’.

“I went to the door and there was a kid that we knew and he said what happened. And I just thought, has he just said that Olly’s been stabbed?”

Olly’s dad, Stuart, said the loss of his son can’t be explained.

“I watch other dads with their sons and you feel it every time you see that,” he said.

“It’s just a void now.”

Olly Stephens was murdered in January last year. Picture: Sky News Australia

Police eventually arrested a 13-year-old girl and two boys aged 13 and 14.

In hundreds of messages and voice notes sent over Snapchat, the two boys revealed how they fell out with Olly online because he had seen an image of a younger boy being mocked and tried to make it stop.

When the two teen boys – who cannot be named for legal reasons – found out about it, they accused him of “snitching on them” and set up a plan for revenge.

The messages show how they recruited a girl – who cannot be named for legal reasons – who knew Olly to get him out of his home and into the open where they would later ambush him, stab him to death and leave him in a pool of blood.

One voice note from the girl says that one of the boys “wants me to set him up” and “I’m so excited you don’t understand”.

“You look at it and think, they’re not gangsters. These are 13, 14-year-old kids living in Redding with families that live in suburbia,” Amanda said.

Amanda and Stuart Stephens. Picture: Sky News Australia

Around 90 per cent of the evidence presented at Olly’s trial came from mobile phones and social media platforms.

One of the pieces of evidence presented at the case was a video of a knife belonging to the 13 year old boy. He posted it on Snapchat the day before Olly was murdered.

“That’s one thing we’ve learned is that a lot of kids post pictures of knives because they want other people to know that they’ve got a knife or would have a knife,” Stuart said.

“So if you’re going to come to them, they’re prepared to come for you.

“It’s nasty. I wouldn’t want to be a teenager now.”

Two boys who attacked Olly were convicted of murder. The girl who lured him to his death was found guilty of manslaughter.

The three teens are serving their sentences at young offender institutions.

Haters Online: Erin Molan Fights Back premieres tonight at 7pm AEDT on Sky News Australia Watch on Foxtel and Sky News Regional or stream on Flash

– With The Sun