After LadBaby faced blackmail over a blurry video showing a man seemingly groping a woman, he began suffering from panic attacks as a deluge of abuse came his way. In 2022, Mark Hoyle, 37, was sent a video by someone claiming it showed Mark inappropriately touching a woman in a Nottingham bar.
Mark, who showed his wife Roxanne, 40, the video, ignored the threats that the blackmailer would release the video if he refused to pay them £10,000. In their book, they insist the video shows a different man. “We were lucky we had each other – that’s what we’ve always said about LadBaby, the good and the bad," Mark tells The Guardian
After ignoring it, the 18-second video was posted online, eventually being picked up by the press. Roxanne adds: “We’ve been accused of things before, and we’re just like, we’ll get through this one. That’s how we are now – we’re quite resilient people.”
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Daily Record)The couple, who are parents to two children Phoenix, eight, and Kobe, six, have penned their upcoming memoir - Our LadBaby Journey: Success, Sacrifice and Sausage Rolls - that reveals the difficult times they faced as a family while sharing so much of their lives online. Allegations first came to light in 2019 after they were accused of pocketing the money from their Christmas number ones, despite having said it was going to the food bank charity the Trussell Trust (now known as Trussell).
This led to a deluge of online abuse, with threats being made and blackmail attempts. "When there was this narrative going around that we stole the money and profited from it, it was really difficult to take," Mark says. The couple addressed "false stories" around the songs last year.
In a statement, the Trussell Trust said they were grateful for the couple's support and they look forward to continuing to work with them as ambassadors for the charity. In December 2022, the trust said LadBaby's number ones had raised £305,000 for the charity, on top of the £1million the stars raised for it through brand partnerships.
The couple built an empire on social media, with 13 million followers and collaborations with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Elton John. Out of those 13 million followers, they also have loyal subscribers who tune into their live videos three times a week.
Mark says he wishes the couple had denied the allegations more fiercely, but Roxanne says the couple were "scared". People were sending threats, saying they knew where they lived.
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ladbabyofficial/Instagram)Mark was threatened in a pub, and had to be bundled into a taxi by the bouncers. “We didn’t know how to [handle] it,” says Mark. “And quite often, you don’t want to make the situation worse, and so you don’t do anything.”
Eventually, the police did start to take the threats seriously, and at one point the Hoyles had anti-terror officers at home advising them. Mark still suffers from panic attacks. “I think I always will, but I’m better at dealing with them now. I can see them coming, I understand how they are," he says.
Roxanne says she is sad that people still question their motives when it came to fundraising. “I’m devastated we’re not doing another song, because those songs shouldn’t have been about trolling and controversy,” she says.
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