Greens Candidate Avery Howard Cops Wave Of Homophobic And Transphobic Abuse Online
Image: Image: The Greens
On Monday Avery Howard announced their candidacy for The Greens in the upcoming federal election for the seat of Fowler in NSW.
However within hours of the announcement they found themselves in the crosshairs of online trolls.
Their social media was flooded with negative comments, forcing them to take action.
Avery Howard targeted by online trolls
Avery Howard is a non-binary disabled person who advocates for anti-poverty and in 2025 is again running as a candidate in the seat of Fowler, after first running in 2022.
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Howard is recognisable for their purple hair and facial piercings which appeared to make them a target for online trolls.
“Hi, I’m Avery, and I’m the Greens candidate for Fowler” they posted online with their official campaign image.
“I’m running because I believe that Parliament can and should do more for us. Everyone deserves to have a home, food, and world class health and education – I’ve seen those goals get harder than ever over the last few years.”
Unfortunately within hours trolls had taken to attacking Howard on the X (Twitter) account, causing them to restrict replies on the platform.
“I’ve turned off comments from people I don’t follow on my tweets for now, as I’ve experienced a staggering uptick in homophobic, transphobic and just hateful responses to my announcement as the Greens candidate for Fowler this morning” they posted just under twelve hours later.
Many of the comments referred to their gender and sexuality, with comments also made about their appearance, none of which were fit for publishing by The Star Observer.
Whilst the bulk of the negative comments were directed to Avery via X (Twitter) it wasn’t long before others started a pile on over on Facebook.
Monica Smit a political campaigner who has actively campaigned against the LGBTQIA+ community and The Greens party, shared Avery’s image on her own Facebook page.
“Caption this candidates campaign…” She wrote.
“Is this the type of person who you think can represent your values?”
Her post elicited hundreds of responses from her followers, including transphobic, homophobic and generally unpleasant responses.
However despite the negative reception Avery has received a wave of positive responses on their Facebook page supporting them in the face of the online trolls.
Avery Howard is still expected to contest the seat of Fowler on Saturday May 3 when Australia votes.
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