STRICTLY come dancing star, Amy Dowden has opened up about being targeted by trolls after receiving her vaccine.
The professional dancer was given her covid jab earlier than other people in her age bracket due to her Crohn's disease.
The 30-year-old was given the opportunity to get vaccinated earlier than usual as a result of the inflammatory bowel condition.
Amy, who is a Welsh native, was diagnosed with Crohn's at the age of 19.
Despite her formal diagnosis in her late teens, Amy had suffered from the disease since the age of 11, being admitted to the hospital on hundreds of occasions in her youth.
People with the disease can experience abdominal pain, vomiting, exhaustion and bloody diarrhoea, among other symptoms.
The star has recently been targeted by vicious trolls who attacked her for getting the jab early due to the debilitating disease.
Speaking on her experience with trolling, Amy said: "I didn't choose to have Crohn's",
"I was disappointed. It is just people typing without thinking.",
"I am just worried about teenagers today, the kids in my dance school who are growing up in this social media age.".
“There is more and more bullying now and something needs to be done.”
Amy also revealed that her Strictly co-stars had accompanied her to the hospital when she had collapsed while on tour.
The star competed in the dancing competition in 2019 with CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual, placing 2nd.
Amy explained her struggles with the disease to HELLO: “I was either too skinny and people assumed I was anorexic, or I’d bloat from my medication.
"I’d just come off the dance floor when a dressmaker in the changing room looked at me and said 'She has a fat bottom and a thick middle.'",
"I was only 21 and still trying to deal with my condition. As a dancer struggling to fit into tiny costumes, I became very self-conscious.”
She said: “I had so many people tell when I got diagnosed, ‘Oh well it’s going to stop you dancing and I was a bit like: ‘How dare they?’.
Strictly Amy: Crohn's and me is available on the BBC iPlayer.
“It made me even more determined.”.
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