An 18-year-old Ole Miss student, Mary Kate Cornett, has become the victim of widespread online harassment and defamation after a false rumor about her was amplified by prominent sports media figures, including WWE RAW commentator Pat McAfee. The initial rumor, alleging a scandalous relationship with her boyfriend’s father, surfaced on the anonymous messaging app YikYak and quickly spread across social media platforms.
On February 26th, during “The Pat McAfee Show,” which airs on ESPN, McAfee discussed the unsubstantiated rumor with his audience, stating, “Some Ole Miss frat bro, k? Had a K-D (Kappa Delta) girlfriend,” and then stressing, “allegedly.” He continued, “At this exact moment, this is what is being reported by … everybody on the internet: Dad had $ex with son’s girlfriend.” Despite the lack of verification, McAfee proceeded to joke about the situation, contributing to its dissemination.
“When the more popular people started posting, that’s when it really, really changed,” Cornett said, emphasizing the amplified impact of their words. “They brought legitimacy to something completely false.”
The rumor’s spread led to severe consequences for Cornett. She received vile messages under her dorm room door, faced threats that prompted her to relocate to emergency housing and switch to online classes, and endured a “swatting” incident at her mother’s home. Her phone was flooded with degrading voicemails, and she experienced intense anxiety and distress.
“The only way I could describe it is it’s like you’re walking with your daughter on the street, holding her hand, and a car mirror snags her shirt and starts dragging her down the road. And all you can do is watch,” Cornett’s father, Justin, said. “You can’t catch the car. You can’t stop it from happening. You just have to sit there and watch your kid be destroyed.”
Cornett released a statement on Instagram, labeling the accusations “false,” “inexcusable,” and “disturbing.” Her boyfriend also denied the rumor, and her family has enlisted legal representation and contacted law enforcement. Cornett intends to take action against McAfee, ESPN, and potentially others involved in spreading the rumor.
“I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done,” she said. “You’re ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention, but here I am staying up until 5 in the morning, every night, throwing up, not eating because I’m so anxious about what’s going to happen for the rest of my life.”
Cornett and her family express deep concern over the long-term impact of the false allegations. “These folks … they can just say whatever they want and destroy a young girl’s life forever,” Justin Cornett stated. “When you begin to have a following like (they do), you have a responsibility to society and to the people you speak about. You have to know the impact of what you might be saying and how it might affect them. And to not consider that is ignorant and naive at best, and malicious and deceitful and hurtful at worst.”
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