French soccer legend Thierry Henry leaves social media for ‘toxic’ racism and abuse

PARIS – Former French national team forward Thierry Henry has said he will ditch all social media until platforms do more to combat racism and harassment, becoming the latest celebrity to reduce his online presence in the face of abuse.

In a statement shared with his combined 14.8 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the former Arsenal player said he would be withdrawing from all social media starting Saturday.

“The sheer volume of racism, intimidation and resulting mental torture is too toxic to ignore,” he wrote, calling for greater “accountability” online.

“It is too easy to create an account, use it to intimidate and harass without consequences and remain anonymous,” he added.

“Until this changes, I will disable my accounts on all social platforms. I hope this happens soon.”

Like many tech giants, Twitter is under increasing scrutiny for facilitating torrents of invective against users, commonly from anonymous accounts, in posts that are often racist or misogynistic.

Henry, France’s all-time top scorer, has long been outspoken on the subject of racism in soccer and has spoken of his own struggles as a high-profile black player.

Twitter said in a statement last week that there is “no room for racist abuse” on its platform and that it was working to crack down on abuse against footballers.

But Henry’s decision to leave social media comes just days after another prominent user, American model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen, said she was leaving Twitter after suffering abuse.

“It’s time for me to say goodbye,” he tweeted on Wednesday, shortly before deactivating his account, which had more than 13 million followers.

“My desire to please and fear of pissing people off has turned me into someone you didn’t sign up for, and a different human being than the one I started here! Long live it, tweeters.”