Unpacking everything going on with Elle Darby and her ‘shameful’ tweets from 2011

26-year-old influencer Elle Darby, who posts family vlogs and lifestyle videos on YouTube, recently addressed the racist and hateful tweets she wrote over a decade ago. If you’re not entirely aware of what’s going on, over the Christmas period, Elle’s old tweets from 2011 resurfaced in which she used racial slurs and insulting language.

An account belonging to her fiancé, Connor Swift, was also found to be using hateful and racist language. On New Year’s Eve they posted a statement onto Instagram which said: “Christmas and New Year are traditionally a time for reflection and as such we decided to take some time to look through both of our histories on social. We are ashamed to admit that we did not like what we found.”

The statement continues to say the pair were both shocked and distressed at some of the language used in their tweets. They said: “We feel that we have a responsibility for our own mistakes to try and take responsibility for our actions, especially the ones that don’t paint us in the best light. These comments are not a reflection of who either of us are as grown adults, nor who we were at the time they were made, and do not align with what we stand for.”

Elle and Connor’s apology

They said they’re beyond angry at themselves for everything they’ve said online and they can only wish for the forgiveness of their fans.

Some of Elle Darby’s tweets from 2011

In one tweet from 2011, Elle Darby wrote: “This bus is sweaty and stinks of Indians.” Another tweet from the same year says: “Squinting like a Chinese man because this cursing bus hasn’t got any curtains to hide the sun and all that fuckery.” And in a third tweet from 2011, she said: “So I hope the Polish twat driving my bus this morn who nearly kicked me off because I didn’t have my pass crashes when he’s dropped me at school.”

via Twitter

In other tweets, Elle is sharing fatphobic and hurtful comments which includes using the n-word and alluding the death of animals. In one tweet she quoted her mum who allegedly told her to “Give dirty looks to fat people. It makes them realise people hate them so they lose weight, saving them from heart attacks.”

She also said: “Girls that act lesbian with their friends because they think it’s appealing lol um.” As well as this this, Elle Darby also referred to someone as a “little gay boy” in one of her recently surfaced tweets.

On TikTok and Twitter, people have been sharing screenshots of her old tweets. One person on Twitter shared a clip of Elle Darby speaking in an old YouTube video where she said most of the men in her weight section was full sweaty men, most of which were “foreign”. Another person tweeted: “If your immediate reaction to this Elle Darby and Connor Swift situation isn’t to unfollow them then you’re facilitating racists. I’ve been a fan for four years, that ended the minute I saw her tweets.”

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