Bobby Norris laughs off trolls who claimed Boris Johnson paid him to fake COVID diagnosis

Bobby Norris attends the Good Morning Britain 1 Million Minutes Awards at Television Centre in London (James Warren / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Bobby Norris (Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Bobby Norris has revealed that online trolls accused him of being paid £5,000 by Boris Johnson to pretend he had the coronavirus.

The TOWIE star, 34, tested positive for COVID-19 over the festive season, and was stunned when online trolls started flinging barbs at him about it.

Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, he said some claimed he was pocketing thousands of pounds to fool people into thinking he had the illness.

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“It’s the madness that is social media,” said Norris, who has previously been open about being the victim of homophobic abuse online and has called for a clamp down on trolling.

“Everyone knows I love social media and 99% of the time it is an amazing tool when used correctly.

“But there is that dark side to social media.”

He told presenter Nadia Sawalha: “I was getting trolled on Christmas Day in bed with COVID, saying that Boris had paid me five grand to go on Instagram and pretend to have COVID.”

Laughing, he went on: “I can assure you that Boris didn’t slide into my DMs and say, ‘Bob, fancy five grand?’

“If he did he has got the wrong sort code because no money has gone in the account!”

The reality star, who has been a part of the TOWIE cast since 2012, went on: “I can’t figure out how people think that anyone would do that and portray that message to people.

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“It’s just bizarre, but I got trolled quite heavily for it.”

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