A controversial online gossip forum, long accused of facilitating severe online abuse, has finally had its anonymous owner unmasked. The platform, known as Tattle Life, is alleged to be a breeding ground for stalking, harassment, doxing (publishing private information), and relentless trolling, causing profound distress to public figures. Its operator has now been identified as Sebastian Bond, a 41-year-old vegan influencer also known by the alias Bastian Durward.
For nearly a decade, since its inception in 2017, Tattle Life was run by an individual operating under the fake name “Helen McDougal,” shielding the true owner from accountability. This anonymity was shattered following a landmark defamation and harassment lawsuit in Northern Ireland, which compelled the revelation of Bond’s identity.
Victims Speak Out Against “Unmanageable Abuse”
While many celebrities and influencers face online criticism, numerous figures attest that the abuse on Tattle Life escalates far beyond typical online negativity. Glamour model Katie Price described it as “the absolute worst platform for trolling,” highlighting its devastating impact.
Price, who has endured hundreds of threads discussing her appearance, relationships, and family, including her son Harvey who has multiple disabilities, shared harrowing experiences of doxing. Private documents, including confidential mail, were posted on the site. “It’s absolutely horrendous, the stuff that’s posted about me,” she told the BBC. “The abuse is unmanageable, especially when they involve my family.” The constant and disgusting abuse contributed significantly to her struggles with mental health, including stints in a mental health hospital and tragically influencing a decision to attempt to take her own life.
Other public figures echo the severity of the impact:
Emily Clarkson: Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter revealed that users announced her pregnancy before she could and that horrible comments about her appearance on her wedding day led her to seek therapy.
Carly Rowena: This influencer faced accusations of profiteering from her young son’s illness while he was hospitalised and discovered a thread that had existed for six years sharing her home address and her parents’ names and address.
Caroline Hirons: The beauty expert vehemently rejected the idea that the content is in the “public interest.” She reported having private documents and pictures of her children and grandchildren posted on the site, some of which remain accessible. Hirons stressed that this is “not normal trolling,” describing the site as a place that normalizes stalking and harassment.
Lydia Millen: With over 1.6 million Instagram followers, Millen, one of the most discussed figures on the site, stated she has dealt with “relentless trolling” daily for five years, causing her to fear for her family’s safety.
- Jen Graham: The influencer shared how discovering a thread about herself “massively sent me under,” leading to a month of being “wiped out” and significant anxiety that affected her ability to create content.
- www.bbc.com
- www.bbc.com
- www.bbc.com
- www.bbc.com
- www.bbc.com
The Lawsuit That Exposed the Owner
The legal action that ultimately outed Sebastian Bond was brought by County Antrim couple Neil and Donna Sands. The entrepreneurs sued Tattle Life after enduring years of “abuse and stalking,” including in-person incidents linked to the platform. They were awarded £300,000 in damages. Mr. Sands stated they received over 1,000 messages from other victims after their case became public.
Despite reporting abusive content as early as February 2021, Mr. Sands noted that stalking-related comments persisted and threads about him were repeatedly taken down and re-uploaded. Following the successful lawsuit that revealed Sebastian Bond, previously operating anonymously for “nearly a decade” as “Helen McDougal,” Mr. Sands announced plans to pursue legal action against the individual users whose usernames were listed in the court order.
However, in an email via his lawyers to the BBC, Sebastian Bond claimed he was “entirely unaware of the proceedings” brought by the Sands and was at a “complete loss to understand how proceedings have been pursued” without his knowledge, stating the judgment was obtained by “default” because he lacked the opportunity to defend himself.
Monetizing Cruelty and Calls for Accountability
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate estimated Tattle Life could be earning up to £180,000 annually from Google Ads, effectively “monetising cruelty.” After being contacted by the BBC, Google confirmed it had restricted ads on the forum, citing “disruptive ad serving practices,” a move expected to significantly reduce the site’s advertising revenue.
The widespread harm caused by Tattle Life has fueled calls for greater online accountability. Many victims argue that anonymity enables the most severe forms of abuse. Katie Price has long campaigned for online abuse to become a criminal offence and for social media users to require verified identification. Lydia Millen contends that while opinions are a right, anonymity is not, especially when it allows users to act “above the law.” Jen Graham suggested requiring identity verification via documents or photos to make users “traceable” and ensure they are “punished” if cruel, arguing people wouldn’t say such things under their real names. Law enforcement has reportedly struggled to identify users behind anonymous Tattle Life posts.
Tattle Life’s Defense and Future Steps
Tattle Life defended its model in an email to the BBC, arguing that influencers who monetize their personal lives should be subject to scrutiny in what they describe as an unregulated industry. The site claims to have a “zero-tolerance policy” for abusive, hateful, or harmful content and a 24/7 moderation team ready to remove content quickly. However, the persistent accounts of severe abuse from multiple public figures cast doubt on the effectiveness of these policies.
Laura Rodrigo from Tattle Life acknowledged that recent events “highlighted the need to make some changes.” She stated the site would improve its reporting system by issuing ticket numbers and reiterated that a contact form is available on every page for reporting posts.
According to internet analytics firm SimilarWeb, Tattle Life received over 11.5 million visits in the past month, predominantly from UK users, indicating the scale of its reach.
The UK’s Online Safety Act, which came into force in March, now places legal responsibilities on platforms to tackle illegal content. While Tattle Life is not among the initial 13 platforms being investigated by regulator Ofcom, the body expects “further enforcement announcements” and warns that platforms failing to protect UK users from illegal content should “expect to face enforcement action.”
The unmasking of Tattle Life’s owner represents a significant moment for the public figures who have long suffered from the abuse facilitated by the platform, bringing some measure of accountability to a corner of the internet previously shrouded in anonymity.
