Followers of Katie Hopkins were left shocked last night after the gobby reality star appeared to call a 9-year-old girl a ’t***’ in a cutting tweet.
The mum-of-three was live tweeting Channel 4’s Born Naughty? where it was shown that schoolgirl Honey had been diagnosed with autism.
Katie, 40, wrote: “Honey can't complete the autism assessment as she is too busy being a complete t***. But the s*** mum assessment is complete #bornnaughty.”
She insulted the youngster further, fuming: “Honey is completing a story about three little pigs. She identifies strongly with this animal #bornnaughty”.
The former Apprentice star then poked fun at the 9-year-old for her weight.
“'We are looking at a little girl...' Sorry, I am going to have to stop you there. That girl isn't little #bornnaughty.”
“The taxpayer is now forking out for play sessions for Honey and a special school. Supplemented by chocolate and red bull #bornnaughty”.
During the programme, Honey was diagnosed with mild autism and pathological demand avoidance, which means she struggles to deal with daily demands that most people find relatively simple.
Her family have been forced to flee their home during one of Honey’s violent outbursts. She has also threatened to kill two of her own classmates.
Following treatment, Honey’s outbursts calmed down and her family are now able to lead an easier life together.
Jane Harris, director of external affairs and social change at the National Autistic Societytells Closer that Katie's comments are 'unacceptable'.
She said: "It's unacceptable to talk about children in this aggressive way, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed condition like autism or not.
"We recognise that writing to shock and offend is what Katie does, and nothing we can say will change that, but this is a new low. As well as being offensive, her comments took people’s attention away from the important issues raised in ‘Born Naughty?’.
"Most concerning for us was how she made light of the importance of a diagnosis and getting the right support for the 1 in 100 people who are diagnosed with autism. In many areas of the country, parents have to wait for years for an assessment and diagnosis, not knowing how best to support their child. We should be focusing on what we can do to bring waiting times for assessments down and improve the support people get after diagnosis.
"Despite the judgemental and damaging nature of her tweets, we were encouraged to see people responding by showing they understand the very real challenges faced by the estimated 2.7 million individuals and families affected by autism in the UK.
"If Katie wants to really understand autism, we would like to invite her to come to meet some members of the National Autistic Society and hear about the challenges they face every day."
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