Elle Darby returns: what has she said about her racist tweets scandal?

It's been months since Elle Darby's controversial tweets first surfaced but on 22 May 2022 she finally broke her silence and posted on her Instagram.

The YouTuber shared a statement which said, "There are few times in life when it makes more sense to just stop. To take a breath, to re-evaluate, to re-visit areas that need deeper healing, and to return when you have the right message: rooted in authenticity & truth.

"There are so many - countless - thoughts & feelings I have, too many to write in one caption or say in one video - they have instead been translated into values & lessons I have been fulfilling in my life online & will be enforcing in my presence online."

She then went on to apologise following her tweets and admitted, "My own heart has been completely broken knowing I had broken yours. I will never be able to apologise enough & I will forever take responsibility for the pain that I inflicted."

Elle then revealed that during her break from social media she spent "months worth of deep soul searching" before going on to say, "I took time to re-visit a past version of myself, a very unhappy & hateful version to try to understand why she held so much hatred in her heart.

"I had to learn how to go back & reread my own chapters without feeling like I want to set all the pages on fire, so that I could finally close the book."

While Elle didn't reveal exactly what she's been doing for the past five months she did say, "The first half of 2022 has been the most pivotal part of my entire existence so far & it is time for my next chapter to begin.

"I don't know where my online journey will take me, there are many things I have needed to re-assess in my life: but it felt like the right time to show up and begin again."

"I am here. I have learned, I won't stop learning, and once again, most importantly, I am sorry. Here's to life's chance to be a better person," she added.

Elle and her partner Connor have also posted a photo of themselves and their son Saint with the caption, "A forever thing".

While this is Elle's first official post it was only a few weeks ago that the YouTuber, who had disabled any comments on her Instagram photos, appeared to return to Instagram and allow comments back on her page.

Under the last post uploaded before the scandal, some of her fans comment and it's safe to say that people were divided.

One person wrote, "People change, we all make mistakes when we are young… come back please💖".

Someone else said, "Love you Elle, keep your chin up and come back soon 💗 Can’t wait!!!"

Another commented, "Racism is a massive thing. It is hate towards people because of their ethnicity and skin colour, how is this acceptable???!"

A fourth added, "Oh my god I read the tweets and I’m just speechless how everybody here just wants her back. There’s no excuse for this and you know what you were doing. Please stay away."

Elle's clothing brand's Instagram account has also posted a photo and announced they're realising new clothes.

What did Elle Darby do during her break?

In June, Elle revealed that she was reading the book 'His name is George Floyd'. Alongside a photo of the book, she wrote, This week's read".

However it was in August 2022 that Elle updated her fans and revealed that during her six month break she actually travelled in America.

"We spent a lot, if not the majority, of that trip doing a lot of work internally and externally," she began.

"I have said since coming back to social media that maybe this work is something that I want to share, maybe it's something to keep private.

"It's a really hard balance to try and find because I don't want anybody that I hurt to feel that I'm just sat here not doing anything but at the same time I do feel that the work I'm doing, I would never want it to come off that I'm only doing it to show off."

Elle also shared photos from her time away and wrote alongside the photo, "An example of one of the incredible charities I worked with in one area that helped feed people who didn't have a place to live.

"The feeling knowing you are actively doing something to help is indescribable and I would recommend every single person makes it a regular habit."

Elle's return to social media comes months after her sister Lucy Carter - who is also a YouTuber - broke her silence after her Elle's tweets surfaced.

Lucy and Elle have the same biological dad but not the same mum, and it appeared that Lucy also received backlash on Instagram following Elle's past actions.

One of Lucy's followers spoke out underneath one of her Instagram posts but commenting, "The hateful comments about not including Lucy and her family into this god awful issue are correct - hate and abuse is not going to solve ANYTHING.

"However SILENCE IS COMPLIANCE. People of colour follow Lucy, disabled people follow Lucy, 'fat' people follow Lucy. They just want to HEAR or READ that you DO NOT stand for this racism. It doesn't matter how long ago it was!"

Lucy then broke her silence and responded to the comment by writing, "I absolutely do not, never have & never will stand for racism."

Lucy's comment came after her sister Elle lost over 100,000 followers on her social media platforms after her tweets surfaced.

Before her old tweets came to light, the social media influencer had more than 785k Instagram followers but that number has since dropped to 654k after lot of fans unfollowed her.

The same can be said for her YouTube channel too. Before the scandal Elle had 611,000 subscribers and it's now dropped down to 564,000 YouTube fans.

Elle then blocked any comments on her Instagram and YouTube channel and she deleted her Twitter account. However she's since allowed some comments on her social media platforms.

Her loss in followers comes amid her groveling apology on YouTube in which Elle, and her fiancé Connor Swift, have called 'shameful'.

Posting a statement on Instagram on New Year's Eve, the couple said, "Christmas and New Year are traditionally a time for reflection and as such we decided to take some time to look through both of our histories on social", after many fans expressed disgust at old tweets targeting a number of ethnic minority groups.

Elle then released a lengthy video to her YouTube - which has over one million views - where she elaborated on her past mistakes.

"I’ve tried to film this video so many times and every time is not good enough because there are no words to tell you how sorry I am," she said.

"The tweets I made in 2011 were so disgusting, and so far from the person I am today, they were racist, fatphobic, homophobic - I am ashamed, I am disgusted at myself.

"There is not one person on the planet who hates me more than I do right now. The pain I have caused to so many of you eats me up.

"To know that I was someone who you considered a great friend and this image of me is now tainted. I don’t even recognise myself to have been [that person].

"I hope you can see this is not the person I am today. I know those disgusting words and awful tweets will always be associated with my name. Since I made those tweets I have had better education in these last ten years. I have let down everybody there is not a more humiliating feeling than that, I want to say once again I’m sorry."

She concluded, "I will be taking a little time offline to further reflect on what’s happened to process a situation I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for."

Elle Darby dropped from her management company

Following Elle's controversial tweets she was dropped from her management Gleam Futures alongside her boyfriend Connor Swift.

A spokesperson said, "At Gleam Futures, our mission is to be a driving force for a culturally progressive and diverse industry, offering leading-edge representation for talent that aligns with our values.

"In light of recent events, we have therefore made the decision to no longer represent Elle Darby and Connor Swift," they told FEMAIL.

Who is Elle Darby?

Elle is a British YouTuber who posts lifestyle content - fashion hauls, vlogs and Q&As about her personal life.

What is Elle Darby's real name?

Elle's real name is Eleanor but her subscribers call her Elle for short (but they actually pronounce it 'Ellie').

How old is Elle Darby?

Elle is 26 years old. Her birthday is 9 December 1995.

Who is Elle Darby's boyfriend?

Elle is in a relationship with Connor Swift - her fiancé.

How long have Elle Darby and Connor Swift been together?

The pair have been together for seven years and they've been very open about their relationship from speaking about their sex life and opening up about trying to gain self-confidence.

Is Elle Darby married?

Elle and Connor tied the knot in August and shared photos of their wedding abroad on Instagram.

Sharing a photo from the day, they wrote, "20th August 2022 💍 a first look at our magical day.

"Just arrived home as husband & wife and wanted to share these pics with you all. We’re not kidding when we say it was everything we ever dreamed of ✨ wedding vlog coming soon 🤍."

What does Elle Darby's boyfriend Connor Swift do?

As well as helping Elle with her YouTube channel and their clothing brands Angelle collection and SWFT, Connor is also a personal trainer.

What are Elle Darby's dogs names?

Elle and Connor have two golden retrievers - Herbie and Hector.

What's Elle Darby's baby gender?

Elle shared her gender reveal on YouTube - announcing she's having a baby boy.

Has Elle Darby given birth?

She sure has.

The YouTuber announced the news on Instagram by sharing an adorable clip of her baby boy cooing.

Captioning the clip she wrote, "10th July 2021 - life has only just begun. 👼🏼🤍✨".

Connor posted the first photo of their little one holding his finger. He captioned the snap, "Dreams do come true - 10.07.21💙".

Thousands of their followers rushed to congratulate them with Molly-Mae Hague writing, "Oh my goodness. Congratulations to both of you🥺🥺🥺🤍".

Zoe Sugg - aka Zoella - commented, "Congratulations guys!! 👏👏🎉🎉💕💕".

Love Island's Dani Dyer said, "Congratulations beautiful girl ❤️❤️❤️❤️ xxx".

And TOWIE's Frankie Sims added, "Congratulations ❤️❤️😍".

Elle has since opened up about the 'overwhelming' love she has after posting the first photo of her baby.

Elle Darby's birthing vlog

Not only did Elle keep her followers updated with her pregnancy but she also filled them in on her hospital bag and two 30+ minute long vlogs of her during labour.

In part one of her birth vlog Elle gets induced, she shares how painful her labour is, her dreamy birthing room (that has an actual bath tub) and the moment she meets her little one.

In Elle and Connor's second birthing vlog it starts off pretty emotional because their son had a few complications during the first few moments of his life.

"Our baby was taken straight off of me and put on the resuscitation trolley for the first 12 minutes of his life.

"His heart rate was low and he was having trouble breathing after the delivery - he wasn't making any sound and there were no updates from the doctors as they worked tirelessly on him. Both of us were very shocked and didn't know what was going on," she explained in the vlog.

She added, "This was sadly part of our birth story so we felt it was important to include, however please note some viewers may find the new few clips distressing."

What's Elle Darby's son's name?

Elle and Connor have announced their little one's names and it looks like they're following in Kim Kardashian-West's footsteps because they've named him Saint.

Funnily enough they actually teased all the baby boy names they love in a video they posted before welcoming their son and Saint appeared in the video.

Does Elle Darby have an In The Style collection?

Elle did have a range with In The Style but following her scandal they pulled her collection.

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What is Elle Darby's YouTube?

Elle's YouTube page is Elle Darby.

What is Elle Darby's Instagram?

Elle's Instagram account was @elledarby_ but after getting married it's now @elleswift.

What is Elle Darby's Twitter?

Elle also has Twitter - @elledarby.

What is Elle Darby's clothing company?

Elle and Connor own their own clothing company Angelle Collection that includes loungewear, underwear, accessories and pyjamas.