Dance Monkey singer says she was prepared for judgment and opinions but relentless bullying ‘tears my mind in two’

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Tones and I has revealed she’s been “hiding [in] a black hole” and battling “relentless bullying” amid her record-breaking success.

Just days after winning four ARIA awards on Wednesday, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter said she felt she needed to share her pain to help the next generation of artists.

“I don’t want to take anything away from my well-deserved achievements and to my fans, I love you unconditionally,” she posted to Facebook late on Friday.

“But I have been hiding [in] a big black hole for a while now.”

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The Victorian-born Byron Bay resident behind hit song Dance Monkey said she was prepared for the sickeningly normal “judgment and opinions” that come with success.

“But the relentless bullying that follows every proud moment tears my mind in two,” she said.

“I make music, I have chosen to follow my passion in life and stick to it until it stuck to me.

“I am a very open honest, caring, good person and in the dark times of death threats and very harsh judgements from strangers I have never met, I have decided to push past it and show any artist that you can get through it maintain your sense of self.

“Even though I don’t see an end in sight, this is how I will live my life now.”

The artist, also known as Toni Watson, was awarded ARIAs on Wednesday for best female artist, pop release, breakthrough artist and independent release.

Electropop hit Dance Monkey, released in May, has topped the charts in dozens of countries and broken the record for the longest-running number-one single ever on the ARIA chart.

The track has also topped Spotify’s global chart for six of the past seven weeks and clocked up half a billion streams since August 23.

• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 131 114. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1 800 273 8255. Other international support helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.