“Sickening”: Tones And I Opens Up About “Relentless Bullying” She’s Received
"I have been hiding a big black hole for a while now."
Just days after sweeping the ARIA Awards, Byron Bay busker Tones and I has spoken about the “relentless bullying” she has received since finding fame earlier this year.
“People always say “’Tones how does it feel, it’s must feel great, what are you feeling, you must be over the moon,'” she wrote on Facebook and Instagram on Saturday. “It does and I don’t want to take anything away from my well deserved achievements, and to my fans I love you unconditionally, but I have been hiding a big black hole for a while now.”
“With success comes judgement and opinions — this I was prepared for, it’s normal (which is sickening) — but the relentless bullying that follows every proud moment tears my mind in two. I make music, I have chosen to follow my passion in life and stick to it until it stuck to me.”
She goes on to write that she’s received death threats and “very harsh judgements” from strangers, and while she has decided to push past it to encourage other artists to do the same, she doesn’t see “an end in sight.”
“This is how I will live my life now,” she finishes. “I am Toni Watson, a female artist from Australia. I am going through the best and worst time of my life. And today I am OK. I love you and as always…we are in this together.”
The statement echoes the speech she made while accepting the ARIA Award for Best Female Artist last week. “No-one could have ever prepared me for the whole world judging me and comparing you to other artists,” she said. “But what’s most important is that you have to be a good person and care about others and carry yourself well. Thank you for Australia letting me know that I’m OK just the way I am.”
Tones — real name Toni Watson — took home four gongs at last week’s ARIAs, including Best Female Artist, Breakthrough Artist, Best Pop Release, and Best Independent Release — both of which were from ‘Dance Monkey’, which has been at the top of the ARIAs singles charts for 18 weeks, a record breaking run.
See the full statement from Tones and I below.
Photo Credit: triple j/YouTube