A diner from Sheffield was trolled mercilessly in 2018 for being a “fussy” eater after a post about her dietary requirements went viral online.

Billie Geena, 25, from Sheffield, wants to raise awareness of the detrimental effects of trolling after a complaint she posted online regarding a worker at a local Mexican restaurant who wrote “haha” next to her dietary restrictions garnered negative attention online.

Geena recalls how she went for a meal with friends in early 2018 and requested the fillet seabass dish from the menu to be served without onions, garlic, or milk in accordance with her dietary restrictions.

Billie was later shocked to see a rude note from the waitress to the chef on the receipt that read “no onion no garlic no milk haha”.

Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

“I have a stomach condition which is triggered by certain foods like onion, dairy and garlic,” said Billie, of Sheffield, South Yorks.

“We had a lovely meal, and on the receipt, they wrote ‘no onion no garlic no milk haha’.”

“I complained to them and didn't get an apology at the time. “

A furious Billie tweeted a picture of the receipt, and within hours was inundated with emails, tweets, Facebook and Instagram messages from complete strangers taunting her for her “fussy” eating habits.

Regarding the trolls, Billie said: “They picked apart how I looked and called me every name under the sun, in multiple languages.”

“I was sent home from my job as they had found out where I worked and apparently left threatening comments.”

Online abuse from strangers, often referred to as “trolls”, is not uncommon. A recent survey from Pew Research suggests that 27% of internet users have been called offensive names and 25% had seen someone being physically threatened.

Geena was no exception: “I had messages from strangers telling me that I should just kill myself. Others said they'd go to the restaurant just to spite me”

“One comment I got just said: ‘B*tch looks like Danny Devito’.” 

According to the Pew Research survey, such comments can affect an individual's mental health, causing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Billie suffered from constant panic attacks and anxiety as a result of her ordeal.

“Every time I checked my phone, I burst out crying,” she said. “I had no self-esteem, I hated everything about myself. I deleted all of the social media apps from my phone for a long time.”

When asked whether she regrets posting about her negative dining experience, knowing now the abuse it would garner, Billie said: “I wish it never happened to be honest, but you can't change the past. I wish I just left it at the receipt. I thought I'd be a champion for those with intolerances, but it didn't work out that way.”

However, Geena admits she did learn from her experience: “I'm really cautious about what I share nowadays. It also taught me the importance of privacy settings.”

As a victim, Billie shared her thoughts on why people troll: “People troll because there aren't any consequences.”

“It's easy, they can hide behind a handle and an image of the union jack or a cartoon character. They share what they want so they can be unidentifiable.”

“They called me an attention seeker, but to be a troll you've got to be a pretty massive one yourself.”

Thank you to Billie Geena for allowing me to interview her for this article.