The anonymous blogger who made money running the Tattle Life gossip site dubbed a ‘trolls’ paradise’, can be revealed for the first time as a male vegan food influencer.
British ‘business owner’ Sebastian Bond, 41, who goes by the alias Bastian Durward, has been confirmed as the secret mastermind behind the forum, which is synonymous with venomous posts about everyone from mildly popular influencers who consider themselves ‘normal mums’ to A-listers.
Anonymous commenters dissect and annihilate every minute detail of their targets’ posts, from cleaning guru Mrs Hinch’s perceived struggle to fasten the poppers on her son’s outfit (sample quote: ‘like she’d never even seen a baby let alone dressed one before’) to presenter Stacey Solomon’s toenails (‘they could snatch salmon out of the river they are that long’).
But now, a court has promised that a ‘day of reckoning’ is coming both for the owners of the platform as well as those who used it to spit vitriol, after an Irish couple targeted by the site successfully sued Bond for defamation and were awarded £300,000 in damages.
For nearly a decade, since the site was set up in 2017, no one knew who ran Tattle Life, with the site’s operator going under the fake name Helen McDougal.
Many will be now surprised to learn the creator is a man ‘going under a number of aliases’ – who is the author and foodie behind plant-based recipe Instagram page Nest and Glow (boasting 135,000 followers).
Sebastian’s identity can be revealed after the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland last week granted an application to lift reporting restrictions.
It is also understood that Sebastian uses different names online – one of them being Bastian Durward – and owns a number of businesses across the world
Couple Neil and Donna Sands pursued legal action after facing ‘defamation and harassment’ on Tattle Life ‘threads’. Donna, who runs Sylkie along with other brands, and Neil, an AI founder, said they found a 45-page thread of which they were subject to. This was deleted in May of this year.
Neil first reached out to the site operators in 2021 and asked them to take down the commentary about himself and Donna ‘or face legal action’.
In 2023, they initiated the process. Neil and Donna got £150,000 each in damages, and the Court granted an injunctive relief to prevent Tattle Life from posting about the couple again.
It was also ordered that the Sands’ legal costs be paid, with ‘further costs and third-party compliance expenses’ amounting to £1.8 million.
The defendants’ cessation figure – the amount which is payable to lift freezing orders against them – is currently at £1,077,173.00.
The judge hit out at Tattle Life, stating there was ‘clearly a case of peddling untruths for profit’.
‘It is the exercise of extreme cynicism – the calculated exercise of extreme cynicism,’ they continued.
‘Which in reality constitutes behaviour solely aimed at making profit out of people’s misery. People facilitating this are making money out of it… protecting their income streams by protecting the identity of the individual posters.’
A 41-year-old man called Sebastian Bond is now confirmed to be behind Tattle Life. Pictured, Bastian Durward – which is said to be one of his online aliases
In 2023, they initiated the process. Neil and Donna (pictured) got £150,000 each in damages, and the Court granted an injunctive relief to prevent Tattle Life from posting about the couple again
Among the A-lister and influencer victims of scathing Tattle Life posts are Stacey Solomon (pictured)
Popular cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch, pictured, is another star that was targetted by Tattle Life users
An initial glimpse at Nest and Glow doesn’t won’t rouse suspicions that its founder is running a social media platform that has become known for its ‘cruel’ remarks
It is also understood that Sebastian uses different names online – one of them being Bastian Durward – and owns a number of businesses across the world. Two of them, Mr Justice Colton confirmed, include UK-registered Yuzu Zest Limited and Hong Kong-registered Kumquat Tree Limited.
According to Companies House information, the former is currently in liquidation but alleged to offer ‘media representation services’.
At a hearing last Thursday, the court saw a letter from Sebastian’s legal team, sent to one of the plaintiffs, claiming he was the Tattle Life founder but was ‘unaware of any legal proceedings against him’.
The Sands legal representatives disputed that he was unaware.
An initial glimpse at Nest and Glow doesn’t won’t rouse suspicions that its founder is running a social media platform that has become known for its ‘cruel’ remarks.
Aesthetic photos of mango chia seed pots and sweet potato snacks dominate the feed, along with instructions for recipes.
An Amazon author page for his cookbook – being flogged for £20 online – claims that ‘Bastian’ has a ‘passion for sharing healthy recipes to inspire everyone to eat natural food full of nutrients and vitamins’
‘I’ve been vegan for over 30 years and on a nutrient-dense plant-based healthy diet for 15 of those,’ he added.
The Irish couple who unmasked him as Tattle Life, have shared the names of his alises on their social media – stating that he was masking under the false name as a site moderator, Helen McDougal
Neil and Donna shared their update in an Instagram statement this weekend. The couple pictured
Couple Neil and Donna Sands pursued legal action after facing ‘defamation and harassment’ on Tattle Life ‘threads’
‘In 2015 I decided to leave my office job in order to follow my passions. This resulted in setting up the site Nest and Glow where I share healthy recipes and other natural lifestyle content.’
However, the Irish couple who unmasked him as Tattle Life, have shared the names of his alises on their social media – stating that he was masking under the false name as a site moderator, Helen McDougal.
‘Dear Friends,’ Neil and Donna shared in an Instagram statement this weekend. ‘As a couple we never wanted or expected to undertake this work, however when we discovered the hate site Tattle.Life we were forced to take action.
‘We are very grateful for your support, and hope that this serves as a reminder to those who want to attack others from behind a screen – that the internet is not an anonymous place.
‘We will share more soon, but for today, we hope that this news will provide some peace to those affected by online hate and harassment, and that the internet can be a safer space for us all. Onward.’
Tattle Life states on its site that it has a ‘zero-tolerance policy to any content that is abusive, hateful, harmful and a team of moderators online 24/7 to remove any content that breaks our strict rules – often in minutes’.
However, it adds that ‘influencer marketing is insidious’ and ‘revolves around people that occupy the space between celebrity and friend to stealthy sell when in reality it’s a parasocial relationship.
‘It’s an important part of a healthy, free and fair society for members of the public to have an opinion on those in a position of power and influence; that is why tattle exists.
‘We allow people to express their views on businesses away from an influencers feed on a site where they would have to go out of their way to read, this is not trolling.’
As reported per The Journal, Neil Sands also said: ‘We undertook this case not just for ourselves but for the many people who have suffered serious personal and professional harm through anonymous online attacks on this and other websites.
‘We believe in free speech, but not consequence-free speech – particularly where it is intended to, and succeeds in, causing real-world damage to people’s lives, livelihoods and mental health. We were in the fortunate position to be able to take the fight to these faceless operators, and it took a lot of time, effort and expense.’
A surprising amount of charged criticism has circulated on message boards, hitting out at various famous people.
In one instance, Alice Evans – a Hollywood actress who split from husband Ioan Gruffudd – took to social media in the initial aftermath of their separation, during which time she discovered he was having an affair and documented her anguish.
‘She is full of s***. It’s kinda sad she felt she has to make this stuff up for attention and likes,’ one tattler slammed.
Another stated: ‘She was controlling him. A good mother would simply not be using her children to get back at her ex whether he cheated on her or not.’
Elsewhere, Katie Price was labelled a ‘drugged up p*** artist’.
Countless celebrities have been subject to vitriol at the hands of vicious comment threads – but those with smaller online presences are also at risk.
Number one on the hit list at one point was Mrs Hinch, who has made a fortune from posting cleaning videos on Instagram.
Tens of thousands of comments raged that she and her husband are a ‘deluded pair of t***s’.
Stacey Solomon, an avid Instagrammer who posts regular updates on her home renovations, marriage and children was also torn apart for her ‘filthy kids, scruffy hair, outfits from Build A Bear’.
One tribe seems to draw particular malice: so-called mumfluencers, Instagram influencers who make their trade in sharing the exploits of themselves and their children online.
In 2023, former mummy blogger Clemmie Hooper was handed a caution order for a period of one-year following a midwifery misconduct hearing – four years after she engaged in trolling other influencers on a gossip forum.
The mother-of-four from Kent, once boasted 700,000 followers on Instagram and had partnered with brands such as Mothercare and Boden on sponsored posts.
But in 2019, Clemmie – who worked part-time as a midwife – came off social media after her account on Tattle Life, a website devoted to discussing influencers, was exposed.
Among the posts made under the Alice in Wanderlust psuedonym, was one accusing Black mummy blogger Candice Brathwaite of social climbing, being ‘aggressive’ and using her ‘race as a weapon’.
Just two months before, Clemmie had invited Candice onto her podcast to discuss her traumatic birth experience and how she developed life-threatening sepsis following an emergency C-section.
Following the Fitness To Practise Committee Substantive Hearing with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which started on February 28 of that year, the panel’s decision was announced on March 7.
Earlier in the hearing, Clemmie had admitted to three of the charges facing her – that she made the comments in question, and that they had been intended to ‘undermine or humiliate’ their target.
She also accepted that elements of the posts were ‘racially offensive and/or discriminatory’, but maintains that she was unaware of this offence at the time.
The panel took into account some mitigating factors, including Clemmie’s health at the time of making the posts, which was said to have clouded her objectivity.
It also considered positive testimonials with regards to her midwifery practice, her public apology, her reflection and insight into her conduct, and her ‘evident remorse’, as well as how she had been affected by reading a very large volume of negative comments about herself online.
Her self-removal from social media, and what the panel considered to be her negligible risk of repetition, were also considered mitigating factors.
In addition, the panel said it accepts that Clemmie was unaware that describing a Black woman as aggressive was a racial trope when writing the posts, and that she has since engaged in self-directed training and reading around equality and diversity.
Speaking to Grazia in 2021, Candice Brathwaite, said it had been ‘painful’ reading the posts on Tattle.
Smaller creators are too under scrutiny, with many TikTokers hit out as everything from a ‘lying unfit excuse of a mother’ to a ‘disgusting vapid selfish woman who’s [sic] opinion of herself is overinflated, much like her daughter’s stomach’.
