Girl fires back at online bullies for trolling her prom picture

(Instagram/__tayjj__)

Like many high school kids, Tayja Jones went to prom last week. The grade 11 Pottsgrove High School student was decked out in a black A-line dress from Sydney’s Closet with multi-coloured sequins. She had her hair curled, a corsage on her wrist and a big smile to match. She had an amazing night.

But after sharing pictures of the evening on Facebook she woke up to discover that she had become the butt of an ugly internet joke.

“There were just like so many rude remarks and negative comments about how I looked. People I didn’t know just like that dress is not for her, she looks like a fat something,” Tayja told Fox 29.

“It was just really hurtful because I was so confident the day before and it just changed my view of myself.”

Initially, Jones was so hurt by the comments that she decided to change her status to say that she wished she had never gone to prom at all.

“She was just really depressed and sad. She doesn’t want to go out the house. She doesn’t want to go to school. She doesn’t want to go nowhere,“ her mom Natina Parker told Fox 29.

But then something changed.

Mixed within all of the negative comments, Jones started noticing others coming forward to stand up for her.

Using the hashtag #teamtayja, people from all over the country and beyond began tweeting their support.

Returning to social media, she posted a message on her Instagram account firing back at negative commenters.

“Overweight and Unhealthy Are Two Different Things Some Of Y’ll Are Just So Ignorant And Uneducated !! I Am Overweight & I Am Fat Yes But I’m Not Unhealthy, I Have No Diabetes, No Hight Blood Pressure, No Asthma And Etc. Stop Talking About Things You Know Nothing About Mind Your Business And Let Me Do Me.”

So far, the post has garnered more than 2,000 likes with close to 300 comments, mostly supportive.

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