Attitude Pride Award winner Dean Eastmond hits back at vile Twitter troll

Dean Eastmond has hit back at a vile troll on Twitter. The writer, who was honoured with an Attitude Pride Award last week, was first diagnosed with cancer just over a year ago, and has since documented his fight against the disease in a popular online blog, as well as the queer magazine he helped to found, HISKIND. His bravery has inspired so many, including us, but that hasn’t stopped him becoming the target of vicious trolls on social media. After receiving one particularly hateful message this morning (July 10), Dean took to Twitter to share a screenshot of the exchange and hit back at the user behind it. He wrote: “Imagine being insecure enough to DM me this the day I restart chemo. Pitying you.”

Imagine being insecure enough to DM me this the day I restart chemo pitying you @PaintGoon pic.twitter.com/BH5x3oUSyz

— Dean Eastmond (@deanvictorr) July 10, 2017

Dean’s followers quickly rallied around him, and many shared messages of love and support to make sure he was alright. One wrote: “What is wrong with people? Stay strong and good luck with next round,” while another added: “Try to ignore these. Please know you are loved and cared about. Know that God loves you. He has much more for you to do.” The young writer and activist has been given less than a 20% chance of survival and is set to undergo another round of chemotherapy on Monday, but that didn’t stop him showing his LGBT+ pride in London over the weekend, where there was a moving surprise in store for him. You can find out more about Attitude Pride Award winner Dean Eastmond’s story below: More stories: Attitude Pride Awards: The winners Gay rugby player proposes to his boyfriend during London Pride parade