Leicester singer Billy Nomates was left distraught after her recent performance at Glastonbury.
The BBC shared clips from her set at the iconic music festival online, which were met with abuse and trolling.
Glastonbury set
The abuse prompted the artist to demand that the BBC take the clips down. Despite Glastonbury being the pinnacle of many musicians and singers’ careers, that was not the case for Billy Nomates, real name Tor Maries.
The performer conducted an hour-long set on the Park Stage on Friday (June 23). The BBC added her set to the streaming platform iPlayer afterwards and shared snippets on social media.
However, the social media content resulted in the singing getting “abuse”, with Billy taking to social media herself to ask BBC to remove the clips.
Releasing a statement, she said: “The level of personal abuse on @bbc6music socials for going to work today is insane. I’ve asked for all footage to be removed.”
BBC removed the clips from social media; however, the set is still available on BBC iPlayer.
Her statement continued: “I know it’s not for everyone what I do. I know lots of people don’t rate me. But the level of personal abuse on that public page is too much. There will be no more shows after this summer. You wouldn’t stay in a workplace that did this to you. Why should I.”
Her closing words could mean the performer will take time off from the industry or potentially leave permanently.
Fan reaction
Fans of the artist and musician jumped to her aid online.
Singer Billy Bragg shared the statement on Twitter and added: “Solidarity from everyone at Left Field with Billy No Mates who was so badly abused online after her @glastonbury set was posted on @BBC6Music that she asked them to take the clip down. She played a set for us last year and was brilliant. You’ll always have place here Tor.”
Solidarity from everyone at Left Field with Billy No Mates who was so badly abused online after her @glastonbury set was posted on @BBC6Music that she asked them to take the clip down. She played a set for us last year and was brilliant. You’ll always have place here Tor pic.twitter.com/ZNMxX4aGZ3
— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) June 23, 2023
A loyal fan said: “Jeez, what is wrong with people?! Tor is an absolute legend, brilliant artist and a fantastic person to boot. I despair of social media sometimes. Ironically, this will bring her thousands of new fans, hate ALWAYS loses.”
A second commented: “Don’t understand all the hate for Billy Nomates. The guts it must take to get up onstage and command a crowd’s attention for a whole hour on your own is mind-blowing. No band, no dancers, that’s raw. Respect.”
The online chatter also introduced her music to new audiences, with one fan tweeting: “I’d never heard of @_billy_nomates before seeing all the hate she’s been getting, just watching her performance on iPlayer and she is class. At least some good has come from people being absolute neanderthals.”
A BBC Spokesperson told The Independent: “We want 6 Music to be a place where brilliant artists such as Billy Nomates are celebrated and supported, and we have respected Tor’s request to have the clip posted on our social channels removed.”
Read more: Holly Willoughby slammed as she arrives at Glastonbury by helicopter: ‘New level of queue-jumping
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