Tommy Robinson supporters send racist abuse to personal trainer over fitness class for Muslim women

A personal trainer who set up a fitness class for Muslim women has been bombarded with racist abuse and death threats from Tommy Robinson supporters after the far-right activist attacked her on his Instagram page.

Bianca Jade, a 30-year-old personal trainer from Nottingham, said she had been inundated with vitriolic abuse since Robinson shared the flyer for her fitness classes for women on Monday.

Ms Jade, who is a fitness instructor at Pure Gym, said she has been getting around 250 calls a day and people had even been trying to FaceTime her.

She said: “It’s one after the other. It’s not even just the calls. I’m getting text messages. I’m getting people messaging me on Facebook and Instagram and on WhatsApp.

“People have been FaceTiming me but not showing their face. They want to see what I look like. I answer but I don’t show my face.”

She said she had been branded a P***, b***h and a slew of other slurs – with other callers using the N-word when she told them she was not a Muslim herself.

“I put the poster up for the classes three weeks ago,” she said. “The next day my car tyres got slashed when I was outside leafleting for them. I went back to my car a few times so they could have seen me.

“It has made me feel paranoid and worried. When I leave work, there could be anyone there. If they are carrying a weapon to slash my tyres – what are they capable of?”

She said a man had called last night to tell her to watch her back and the high volume of abusive phone calls were making it difficult for her to talk to her own customers.

“They have been calling me racist names and saying that I should go back to my country. I’m British. I was born here. I’m not Muslim. I’ve had death threats.” Ms Jade added.

The fitness instructor, who has been working at the gym for three years, said she decided to set up the classes because she noticed Muslim women were feeling uncomfortable doing certain exercises in front of men in the gym.

“Sometimes I feel self-conscious working out as you can have a lot of guys staring. I understand from a female view how it would feel, but on top of that, if you are Muslim it can be more difficult,” she added.

“I’m doing these classes so women can take off their hijab and feel comfortable while working out. But people are seeing all the stuff going on the media about the Muslim girl Shamima Begum and they are stereotyping Muslim people. They are very ignorant.”

Ms Jade, who said the classes had always been open to any women who wished to attend, blamed Robinson for the abuse she had received, noting that the calls only started coming through after he shared the flyer.

She said she had reported the abuse to the police and they had been really supportive about her case.

This comes after a rape charity was bombarded with racist abuse from supporters of Robinson, founder of the English Defence League, earlier in the week after a photo of its flyer offering support to victims from ethnic minorities was posted on social media.

A photo of a Rape Crisis pamphlet aimed at black, Asian and minority ethnic women was posted on Robinson’s Facebook page with the caption: “I guess it’s ok to rape white women then?”

The Wycombe, Chiltern and South Bucks Rape Crisis centre received hundreds of abusive phone calls and messages after the post appeared on the far-right activist’s Facebook page, the charity said.

The organisation was forced to call the police after it received “overtly racist” communications.

Katie Russell, spokesperson for Rape Crisis England and Wales, said the service provision for all victims and survivors of sexual violence was significantly disrupted.

Robinson, an anti-Islam activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is Ukip’s official adviser on grooming gangs. His extensive criminal record includes convictions for violence, drug possession, public order offences, mortgage fraud and entering the US under a false passport.

Asked to respond to the allegations, Robinson told The Independent: “You are fake news.”

Representatives for Pure Gym have been contacted for comment.