(The Root) — People can be mean — especially with anonymity on their side.
Since catapulting into stardom after winning American Idol in 2004, Fantasia Barrino has had her fair share of public battles, from being ridiculed for her learning disability to being attacked for her status as a single mother. Much of this backlash has occurred on social media, where the public has nearly direct access to stars who interact with them on sites such as Twitter and Instagram.
In a recent interview with Yahoo! Music's Hip Hop Media Training, Fantasia opened up about the bullying, as she calls it, that goes on in her cyber world. "I always see it like, if there's somebody taking the time to say something evil or say something mean," she said. "Those are the people I pray for, because nine times out of 10, they are dealing with something themselves."
It's a bit of a two-way street, however; Instagram has indeed been a battleground for the singer, but sometimes it is Fantasia cast as the aggressor. She's made headlines for using the site to make seemingly homophobic comments, lash out at Jet magazine and threaten her ex-boyfriend's family.
Read more at Hip Hop Media Training.
Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.