A MARILYN Monroe lookalike has received death threats from online trolls over her looks.
Leylah Dobinson, from Hastings, has amassed more than 21,000 followers on Instagram.
The 23-year-old model says she has always been inspired by Monroe’s natural beauty, but has recently received negative comments calling her “fake”, a “narcissist” and even received death threats.
“It’s happened multiple times where unknown accounts will message me saying, ‘you deserve to be dead’ or ‘you’re ugly’,” she said.
“Normally I don’t even open them. You feel so overwhelmed that someone can think that in their head and send that to you.
“But it doesn’t bother me. It just pushes me to do more – without the haters I wouldn’t get anywhere anyway.
“They’re saying these horrible words and it can affect you mentally. It’s not a nice thing to read, but it just makes me stronger and makes me want to do even better in life.
"It's sad that it affects people and gets people down when they receive these messages.”
Leylah said she has always dressed up in heels and makeup from a young age, with her mother telling her she could be the next Marilyn Monroe.
In 2014, she was crowned Hastings Carnival Queen and credits the achievement with kickstarting her love for being in the limelight.
She began taking modelling more seriously in 2019, and she got her first paid modelling shoot in 2020.
Posting on Instagram to her followers, Leylah shares modelling shots alongside pictures of her in Monroe’s signature styles.
She believes the hate messages she receives have helped her progress her modelling career.
“I’ve always been quite a confident, strong-minded person so receiving these messages has made me realise how far I’ve got with my modelling now – it's actually irritating people which I love, it’s annoying people which means I’m getting noticed,” she said.
“I think it’s a jealousy thing as well. I’ve received messages that say Marilyn was ugly, so when someone sees a beautiful person, they can’t say something good because it makes them feel better to say something negative.
“When you’re reading horrible words, visually you’re seeing that and thinking how can someone say such horrible things to you so yeah it does upset me in a way, but I just try and let it go over my head.
“Personally, I feel sorry for the people that send them and just want to say that I wish them the best in life and ask what they get out of it.”
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