Charity chart-topper Ladbaby breaks his silence on groping allegations and reveals he called on help from anti-terror police after backlash from trolls
Ladbaby has broken his silence on groping allegations as he also reveals the vicious trolling he and his wife received over the years was so severe that anti-terror police were called in.
Ladbaby has broken his silence on groping allegations as he also reveals the vicious trolling he and his wife received over the years was so severe that anti-terror police were called in.
In 2022, the influencer, real name Mark Hoyle, 37, was accused of hugging and rubbing up against an unknown woman in a Nottingham club.
An 18-second video of the incident was sent to Mr Hoyle and his wife Roxanne along with a demand for £10,000 to prevent it from being released.
The couple ignored the message hoping the blackmail was just a hoax, but months later the clip was widely shared online.
There is no suggestion the touching in the video is non-consensual and the clip was later deleted from TikTok for violating its content terms.
Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne have faced vile abuse online and in real life following their success
Mark Hoyle and Roxanne pose for a picture with the Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis
An online troll sent the clip to the couple along with a randsom of £10,000 in order for the clip not to be released
The couple topped the charts with their single Food Aid, a rework of the Band Aid song Do They Know Its Christmas
A source close to the pair has claimed the man in the video is categorically not Mark, The Sun reported.
Speaking to The Guardian ahead of a new memoir, Our LadBaby Journey: Success, Sacrifice and Sausage Rolls, Mr Hoyle said: We were lucky we had each other – thats what weve always said about LadBaby, the good and the bad.
LadBaby started making joke songs on YouTube but amazingly managed to claim the top spot on the UK Singles Chart each year from 2018 to 2022 with tunes such as I Love Sausage Rolls.
But even though it started as a lighthearted endeavour to raise cash for charity, the couple faced a backlash after unfounded allegations were spread online that they were pocketing money for the Trussell Trust.
They received thousands of abusive messages online along with threats in public with Mr Hoyle being confronted in a pub and having to be escorted to safety by bouncers.
Also, because Mr Hoyle refused to say how the couple voted in a 2019 Guardian interview, they were attacked for being Tories.
The abuse became so severe that Mr Hoyle started to suffer from panic attacks.
The police took the case seriously and anti-terror officers were assigned to advise the couple at their home.
Mrs Hoyle said: I dont think people realise the impact of that level of trolling, where the police came to support us through that time.
Theyve got five consecutive festive number one singles under their belt and have even surpassed a record set by The Beatles
Roxanne Hoyle and Mark Ladbaby Hoyle arriving at the 24th British Independent Film Awards ceremony
Hoyle, a former graphic designer, and his fellow vlogger wife share two children who also regularly feature on their social media channel (pictured together with their two children in 2018)
LadBaby pictured attending the VIP launch party for Christmas at Hamleys in London in November 2023
Last year LadBaby treated Nottingham audiences with its first ever live show. A TikTok video shared by the couples account shows a packed theatre delighting in humorous festive skits
Husband-wife duo LadBaby remain united together despite unfounded allegations, rumours and online trolling
The new autobiography details the obstacles the couple, who remain defiantly united, have had to overcome over the years such as living off just £20 a week.
The Hoyles have got five consecutive festive number-one singles under their belt and have even surpassed a record set by The Beatles.
They never expected to hit their level of fame when they first made a food-inspired charity tune in 2018.
That year, We Built This City... On Sausage Rolls, a parody of the 1985 Starship hit, scooped the coveted number one, beating songs by Ava Max and Ariana Grande to the top spot.
Further successes followed including I Love Sausage Rolls (2019), Dont Stop Me Eatin (2020) and the Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John-featuring Sausage Rolls For Everyone (2021).
Speaking to The Metro last year after securing their fifth Christmas hit, Mr Hoyle said: Five years ago when we started this, we knew the importance of food banks in this country and we wanted to raise funds and awareness for that so we did that one [song], that was lovely.
Hoyle, a former graphic designer, and his fellow vlogger wife share two children who also regularly feature on their social media channels.
The family-friendly star has also collaborated with Walkers Crisps and Trussell Trusts nationwide food bank network for charity.
Last year, LadBaby treated Nottingham audiences with its first-ever live show.
