Journalist and writer Melissa Blake has penned down incredible essays on disability, relationships, and pop culture that have ultimately informed and inspired people across the world.

Sadly, despite how amazing this woman is, she has still found herself on the receiving end of insults from b*ullies who don’t like how she looks.


B*ullies have likened Melissa to a ‘blob fish’ and a ‘potato with a face’. But none of that has put her down.

Melissa was born with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, a condition caused by a mutation of the gene responsible for moving substances between cells during development.

Because of the condition, Melissa has been bound to a wheelchair and she’s had to endure around 25 surgeries.

Freeman-Sheldon syndrome causes an altered facial appearance with features including a small pursed mouth, unusually prominent cheeks and decreased nose cartilage. Because of this, Melissa has endured h*orrible a*buse online.

Melissa recently took to Twitter to open up on the nasty insults she has had thrown her way. One person likened her to a ‘blob fish’, another a ‘potato’. Another person even went so far as to claim she should be banned because she’s too ‘ugly’.

“People wonder why I’ve struggled so much with self-acceptance when it comes to how I look and our society’s notion of what “beautiful” is. It’s because of comments like these — comments that dismiss me and deem me unworthy,” Melissa explained.

“This is just one more example of the type of ableism that people with disabilities face every day and it’s something I’m constantly trying to change.”


Determined not to let the b*ullies get her down, she had the perfect way to fire back at the haters claiming she shouldn’t upload pictures of herself, she uploaded more!

“During the last round of trollgate, people said that I should be banned from posting photos of myself because I’m too ugly. So I’d just like to commemorate the occasion with these 3 selfies.”

Melissa’s tweet has since gone viral with more than 280,000 times on Twitter, with fans praising her courage and strength.

Even better, Melissa’s work is now more popular than ever! What cruel people thought would break her only raised her higher up.

Melissa reveals that it’s been hard at times to ignore the cruel comments she’s received. “I’d be lying if I said they didn’t bother me and it’s hard not to get down on yourself. These people are just sat at home hiding behind their keyboards. I don’t think they would say half of what they say on the internet to someone’s face.”

But whenever she feels down, she looks at everything she has achieved so far. “What I’ve overcome helps put things in perspective,” she says.

Melissa Blake, you are a true inspiration. We wish you all the very best moving forward.





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