After years of harassment towards influencer Bianca Coster, notorious X troll Chris Excel has finally changed his profile picture.
Since its creation in 2020, the catfish account has been using unauthorised images of the young woman. This week, Bianca again accused the anonymous X user, who is known for his defamatory posts, of tarnishing her reputation.
According to law experts, the troll could face the full might of the law for harassment and cyberbullying..
CHRIS EXCEL CHANGES X PROFILE PICTURE
Following Bianca Coster’s comments this week, Chris Excel surprised his 3,3 million followers by changing his X profile picture.
But instead of catfishing the pretty influencer, the man behind the account took aim at another unsuspecting South African – a man by the name of Antony Teflon Ngele.
In the pic, Antony’s face was photoshopped into Bianca’s frame. Neither Antony nor Bianca has responded to the change.
In a TikTok video this week, Bianca Coster revealed how Chris Excel’s decision to use her picture without her consent affected her life and mental wellbeing.
She said, “Why couldn’t he use another picture? Why should I constantly shift and change my life to accommodate this Chris Excel person? He could have used any other picture.
“He decided to use my picture, knowing the implications of that. If he thought this was just innocent, he could have used his picture. But he knows the backlash that would come with the things he says and the stuff he does, so he decided to use my picture. Now I am receiving all that backlash.”
Bianca claimed that she had repeatedly asked the X troll to remove her picture, a plea that was ignored.
She explained how she constantly has to explain herself to brands and people who recognise her face in public.
She added: “It’s hovering over me. I can’t get away from it, and still you guys come on my comments, insult me, and call me all sorts of names as if I deserve this. I don’t know what I did. All I ask is for my picture to please not be used, respectfully and gracefully.”
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
According to legal expert Ulrich Roux, Chris Excel could be in trouble with the law if Bianca Coster decides to apply for a court order against him.
He told eNCA: “This is a form of cyberbullying; it is an infringement of the Cyber Crimes Act, and it’s also a form of harassment. She is well within her rights to obtain interdictory relief against both X and Chris Excel.
“While that is easier said than done, as the identity of Chris Excel is unknown, one can obtain specialists or forensic specialists to obtain the IP addresses and locations from which he runs the account. Once that is done, one can obtain interdictory relief in the high court.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CHRIS EXCEL’S ACTIONS?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
