Gary Barlow of 'X Factor' Subjected To Cruel Jokes About Stillborn Daughter On Twitter
"X Factor" judge Gary Barlow was heartbroken after his wife, Dawn, delivered a stillborn baby on Aug. 4. In an official statement, Barlow expressed his anguish over the loss of his child, a daughter who they had already named Poppy.
"Dawn and I are devastated to announce that we've lost our baby," he said. "Poppy Barlow was delivered stillborn on Aug. 4 in London. Our focus now is giving her a beautiful funeral and loving our three children with all our hearts."
Barlow received a flood of support from fans and celebrities alike.
"My thoughts are with Gary, Dawn and family right now X," wrote singer Robbie Williams on his office site.
Shockingly, former "Big Brother" UK contestant Kenneth Tong decided to use the couple's tragedy to generate publicity for himself.
The insensitive reality star tweeted a string of horrendous comments about Poppy.
"Guess Gary Barlow's Daughter 'Popp'ed early."
"Does Gary Barlow put Poppy in the green wheelie bin, or can he get away with putting her in the black one?"
@GBarlowOfficial Going to take a lot more than well wishes to relight Poppy's fire. 'Could it be magic?'"
"Have you heard the jokes about @GBarlowOfficial's Stillborn? Poppy never gets old."
"Who wants to hear another @GBarlowOfficial, dead baby joke?"
One of his most vile tweets liked to a photo of an infant baby's coffin.
"Least we all know finally How Deep is @GBarlowOfficial's Love: the size of a Shoe Box. pic.twitter.com/Ez8qrvTO"
Tong used the attention he gained from the tweets to ask Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, whose Twitter account was the only one he followed, on a date.
"Seeing as Kenneth Tong is Trending Globally, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask @RHW out on a date."
Huntington-Whiteley responded to the harassment by blocking Tong on the social networking site.
Minutes later, he was back to tweeting about Barlow.
"Told @GBarlowOfficial wife that she has to buy him a Father's Day present. I mean, why should he suffer just because she had a Stillborn?"
"Does @BarlowOfficial get a 50% discount off the funeral of Poppy Barlow cause it was Stillborn?"
Tong also claimed that Poppy's death was made less tragic by the fact that the couple, who have been married since 2000, have three children together.
"Don't understand why @GBarlowOfficial is upset over stillborn Poppy. He has other children. Three out of four ain't bad."
Tong's arrogance is evident in his Twitter bio, which reads: "Would like a date with @rhw [Rosie Huntington-Whiteley] The inspiration for Christian Grey of the bestselling book, 50 Shades of Grey."
Entertainment Wise is reporting that outraged fans are calling for the former reality star's arrest.
"@metpoliceuk please look into kenneth tong on twitter. He is directly tweeting sick & vile jokes 2 Gary Barlow about the death of his baby," one fan tweeted to the Metropolitan Police.
"@MrKennethTong: Who wants to hear another @GBarlowOfficial, dead baby joke?"Hope you choke in your sleep. #animal," retorted another.
Barlow has not commented on the controversy but tweeted a thank you to well-wishers for their support.
"Your kind words and lovely messages are overwhelming. Thank you,"
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