Inside the tragic death of 16-year-old influencer as trolls torture mum over funeral photo

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. Princess Bliss Dickson was just 16 years old when she died by suicide, following a harrowing two-year campaign of online abuse. And even in death, trolls are continuing to lash out at her devastated mother

Early last month, Sophie-May Dickson lost her beloved daughter, Princess Bliss Dickson, to suicide. Heartbreakingly, there was more anguish to come.

The loss of a child is perhaps the most devastating thing a person can endure, particularly under such upsetting circumstances. But rather than show empathy or even basic decency, many online trolls have come forward to mock Sophie-May and her family, even pouring scorn over poignant photographs taken at the teenager’s funeral.

These hurtful comments will likely strike the family even deeper, knowing that Princess had suffered an onslaught of foul online bullying in the years before her death, at the age of just 16 years old. A fashion-conscious young influencer with a love of dance and travel, Princess had her whole life ahead of her and appeared to be growing into a confident young woman.

In one TikTok video, Princess, who had been preparing to study makeup, told followers: “I don’t need to be liked by people who don’t even like themselves.” In another, she could be seen strutting up and down, catwalk style, as she said, “It’s okay, I would hate me too if I were you.”

But behind such self-assured statements, Princess was having to deal with a cruel barrage of abuse, beyond what anyone of any age should have to deal with, with seemingly endless insults about her physical appearance beginning when she was just 14 years old. And much of the abuse seems to stem from the website Tattle Life, dubbed a “troll’s paradise” by grieving Sophie-May.

32-year-old Sophie-May, who appeared on the 2014 Channel 5 docuseries Blinging Up Baby, was initially the target of the trolls’ vitriol. More than 10,000 posts about Sophie-May and her family were uploaded to Tattle Life, many filled with nasty remarks from complete strangers. When glamorous Sophie-May deleted some of her social media accounts, the attention turned to Princess, with commenters hiding behind their anonymous profiles to attack a child they did not know.

Describing the severity of what the teenager had to deal with on a daily basis, in an article penned for The Verve, Dr Jessica Taylor, a chartered psychologist specialising in the trauma and abuse of women and girls, wrote: “Mixed in with the abuse were users claiming that Tattle Life was the only place where Princess was ever cared for, that they were devastated to have “lost her”. A quick scroll back showed past posts from the same accounts claiming Princess looked like she was on drugs, admitting they had been stalking her TikToks, ridiculing her outfits and makeup, dissecting her self-harm scars while mocking her clothing.”

Some users even went as far as to create fake accounts with the sole intention of monitoring Princess’s TikToks and mocking her relentlessly in the comment section. Sickeningly, it’s believed such trolls may appear as perfectly normal, functioning adults in the offline world, masking their dark online life with friends, family and colleagues.

According to Dr Taylor: “My research has shown that its users are not weirdos in their mum’s basement, as some like to imagine. They are over 90 per cent women, most of them professionals. Teachers. Nurses. Solicitors. Managers. Academics. Charity workers. Social workers. Therapists. Psychologists. The patterns of commenting mirrored the rhythm of a busy working mum’s day.” She added: People who stalk and bully children do not live in dark corners of the internet. They live among us. They work alongside us. They teach our children. They treat our patients. They manage teams. They sit in safeguarding meetings. They are your sister, your cousin, and your mother.”

While Sophie-May reported this stream of abuse to Essex Police, she was told this was a civil matter, as detailed in a letter sent by MPs to Ofcom’s chief executive. It also stated that the worried mother had raised concerns about the impact the bullying was having on Princess’s mental health as far back as September 2024. As time went on, the toll became evident and, shortly before her suicide, Princess was left unable to attend school due to the profound effect the online hate had had on her.

Speaking with the Mail Online last month, Sophie-May shared: “I am currently living every parent’s worst nightmare. I took my daughter’s phone away, but this did not prevent the bullies from reaching her, as online and real life cross over in many ways. Tattle Life was viewed on a computer in school, and children and parents alike made cruel comments in person based on what they had read online. Even without a phone in her own hand, the abuse continued. Even following her death, the trolling continues. Comments are online right now, with users degrading my daughter’s memory and mocking my family’s grief.”

It was clear that family meant everything to the teen, who described mum Sophie-May as her “best friend” in a TikTok video shared shortly before her death. In another, showing her dancing with Sophie-May and sister Precious, Princess declared they were her “best girls” and the “only girls you will ever catch me hanging out with”. And Sophie-May and Precious made sure they were there for the teenager right until the end, taking photographs beside her coffin on what the heartbroken mother poignantly described as the “last ever Mother’s Day with my two girls together here on earth”.

In another image, taken at Princess’s funeral on March 26, Sophie-May could be seen with her head pressed against her daughter’s coffin, as she prepared to say goodbye one last time. In the heartrending caption, she wrote: “The day I tucked my baby to sleep for the very last time. The hardest goodbye. How do you ever accept kissing your baby for the very last time?”

But even when faced with this scene of bereavement, the keyboard warriors continued to jeer. One person commented: “Fashion show. Its more about your look than respect for the dead one.” Another said, “How many takes to make it perfect? You know, for the clout?” A third individual jibed: “But first of all, the most important thing here is to get it filmed and posted on social media. If this was real grief, you would have dropped the camera. Ridiculous.”

Responding to such hurtful comments on her Instagram story, Sophie-May told followers: “This was the last moment of me with my daughter. I had walked away from casket [sic] many times but it just didn’t feel right to me. Once I collected my belongings from where I sat. My bag and my phone and my order of service booklet I just had to go back. I was ONLY IN THE MOMENT! It was just myself and staff in the room but to me it felt like just myself and my daughter. My phone in my hand because like I say I just collected my belongings from were I as [sic] seated but couldn’t walk away without one last personal moment with my first born baby!!”

She continued: “I would not of remembered every part of this day if I didn’t hire photographers who were just there silently in the background capturing our beautiful last moments. I would highly suggest anyone to hire people to watch back this day because your emotions and adrenaline are so high you don’t remember it at all. So when I saw this peice of footage along with the 100s of other beautiful pieces of footage I absolutely adored that those moments were captured and I can always go back to these last moments. And yes I chose to share. So no. In that moment [it] wasn’t about future audience. I am just about to walk away from my baby for the very last time for the rest of my life.

“I could hardly breathe. My legs were shaking. My body was so tight I felt like my ribs were going to crush my own organs!!!!… I didn’t broadcast this for views. I saw the person who captured this beautiful moment share it and decided to share it myself. This is a very special moment of mine and I am not wrong for sharing it.”

“This activity amounts to persistent online stalking and harassment of a child by adults. Princess was aware of the content being posted about her and became increasingly distressed by the daily bullying and false allegations made on the site. Those concerns explicitly warned that Princess was unable to cope with the abuse directed at her. Tragically, those warnings have now been realised.”

Tattle Life has given the following comment when approached by the Mirror: “First and foremost, Tattle Life wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Princess Bliss Dickson. The community on the site has long been concerned for her welfare, having seeing her publicly from a very young age. The gross misuse of this tragedy by those with vested interest is appalling and we urge everyone look beyond the bias narrative.

“Organisations such as the Samaritans advise against sensationalising a suicide or attributing it to a single cause, as this is rarely the case. Tattle Life remains confident in its moderation processes and compliance. We welcome open conversation with any relevant authority. It is essential for the Coroner’s office to be allowed the time and space to perform its duties thoroughly before any conclusions are drawn. At this time, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

An Ofcom spokesperson previously stated: “This is a heartbreaking loss, and our thoughts are with the Dickson family at this devastating time. Protecting children online is a top priority for Ofcom, and we’re aware of serious concerns raised about abuse on Tattle Life. We are making urgent contact with the platform to understand the steps it has taken to comply with its legal duties under the Online Safety Act. Where evidence suggests there are potential compliance issues, we’ve shown we’ll take action.”

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org , visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com