By A SCOTS girl who became the target of a hate campaign because she rolled her eyes at Susan Boyle’s famous first performance has hit out at Britain’s Got Talent bosses for making her a hate figure.
Jennifer Byrne has received threats and abusive messages after a camera picked up on her grimacing at Susan Boyle when she said she wanted to be like Elaine Paige, at the SECC in Glasgow earlier this year.
Speaking publicly for the first time, the 18-year-old said that producers unfairly edited her actions and did not show footage of her applauding Susan after her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream.
Jennifer has been nicknamed the 1:24 girl because she can be seen at just under one and a half minutes on the YouTube video – which has been watched over 120million times.
She said: “All I did was roll my eyes the same as everyone else in the audience, including Simon Cowell.“I also stood up and applauded during the song with everyone else but they failed to show that.
“They could have picked anyone who made a face or rolled their eyes but it just happened to be me.
“I have tried to ignore the abusive comments but it keeps being dragged up.
“People seem to want me to say sorry for something 3,000 people did – I hope this brings it to a close.”
When the abuse that Jennifer had been receiving first came out Susan Boyle said she was appalled by the way fans had targeted her, and asked them to put an end to the comments.
One post below the YouTube video said: “Talk about never judging a book by its cover – anybody else feel like punching the chick at 1:24 in the face?
Another post said that they would set up a “hate club” – while one said Jennifer should be “named and shamed”.
In an interview over the weekend Susan Boyle said she the comments over her looks – such as “Hairy Angel” had hurt her.
She said: “I was fed up with being called that, I didn’t know what I looked like on television until I saw myself on Britain’s Got Talent.
“I saw this wee wifey with the mad hairdo and the bushy eyebrows and said ‘Hmmm, not really telegenic’.
“So I decided to spruce myself up a bit.
“When I look in the mirror now I see this sophisticated lady…would you want to look like the Hairy Angel? I don’t think so.”
In response to Jennifer’s comments about BGT, a spokeswoman said: “The show reflects the reaction of audiences to the acts and this was just one of many.”
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