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Lynelle Cantwell Strikes Back: ‘Ugliest’ Girl Responds To Cyberbullies On Facebook

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 05:56 PST, Dec 9, 2015

Lynelle Cantwell is striking back at cyberbullies who included her in list of “ugliest girls” in an online poll. On Tuesday, the teenager offered a response to those who chose to mock her looks, but she did so using such compassionate phrasing that her post has been deemed a “rant of kindness.”

Cantwell and 11 other teenage girls were named to the list which disparaged the looks of female students at Holy Trinity High School in Newfoundland. The “ugliest girl” stated during recent interviews that she was shocked that both her cyberbullying story and Facebook response post had garnered such attention.

When Lynelle returned to school on Monday morning after enjoying her weekend, she was met with snickers and a some finger-pointing from classmates as she walked down the hall. At first, the teenager did not really understand what was going on, and then someone told her she had ranked in the No. 4 spot on the ugliest girls in grade 12 poll posted online and shared with Holy Trinity High School students.

After coming to terms with the cyberbullying, she decided that a response to the anonymous poster and those who had voted in the ugliest girl poll was definitely needed.

An excerpt from the Lynelle Cantwell ugliest girl poll response posted to Facebook follows.

“To the person that made the ‘ugliest girls in grade 12 at hth’ ask.FM straw poll. I’m sorry that your life is so miserable that you have to try to bring others down. I know that I’m not the prettiest thing to look at. I know I have a double chin and I fit in XL clothes. I know I don’t have the perfect smile or the perfect face. But I’m sorry for you. Not myself. I’m sorry that you get amusement out of making people feel like s**t. I’m sorry that you’ll never get the chance to know the kind of person I am.”

Cantwell went on to state that she is a kind, funny, non-judgmental and helpful person. Lynelle said that although the girls on the list might not look perfect on the outside, that does not mean that they are ugly.

“If that’s your idea of ugly then I feel sorry for you. Like seriously? Get a life,” the Canadian teen added.

Lynelle Cantwell and several of her pals were treated to a fun evening out by two local celebrity wrestlers, Mr. Fantastic and Dynamite Dylan. Cantwell and her friends enjoyed a trip to the hair salon, went shopping, and then dined at Jungle Jim’s. The 17-year-old Canadian teenager was immediately recognized by multiple folks she encountered along the way, and was offered hugs and words of support from them all, Yahoo News reports.

The Count Me In organization, a youth-led group, contacted Cantwell to urge on her positive response to the cyberbullying. Organization founder Shane Feldman paid for Lynelle to travel to Toronto and participate in the group’s annual leadership summit so she could inspire other teens with story.

Cyberbullying is happening in many schools and a multitude of nations, according to psychologist Janine Hubbard. She feels that online bullying has become an international problem, which impacts 43 percent of teenagers aged 13 to 17 over the course of the past year alone, the Examiner reports.

“Gossip, exclusion… impersonation is one of the big ones we’re seeing. Harassment, cyber-stalking, flaming and of course these polls and surveys that are happening on a very anonymous level,” Hubbard added.

In just two days after Lynelle Cantwell published the cyberbullying post, her response was shared by more than 3,000 Facebook users, Today reports. The post has has now gone viral and been shared in countries around the globe.

What do you think about the ugliest girl online poll and Lynelle Cantwell’s response to the cyberbullies?

[Image via Shutterstock.com]

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