Greg James and his wife have shut down critics on social media following the death of their dog.
The BBC Radio 1 broadcaster, 40, and his wife of eight years, Bella Mackie, 43, announced on Tuesday that Barney had been put down, prompting an outpouring of love from fans and colleagues.
Barney was hugely popular with listeners and co-stars – he even had his own dedicated segment on the airwaves titled Barney, Are You There?!
Sharing the ‘horrible news’ of his death, the presenter admitted that he ‘can’t get his head around it’ but is taking comfort in knowing it was ‘peaceful’.
Meanwhile, Bella had made it known that she would be promoting her new book, Claws Out!, while navigating her grief, as its release is scheduled for August 27.
However, her promotional content was not met with a positive reaction from all Instagram users.
Today, she shared a smiley selfie, showing herself holding her new book, with the caption: ‘First review is in! It’s some very welcome good news at a very sad time…’
In the comments, one person wrote: ‘Too soon before your pup died!!’, causing Bella to reply abruptly with: ‘F**k you’.
Greg then weighed in, responding to the troll: ‘our grief and how we deal with it is absolutely nothing to do with you. Or more simply put, what Bella just said.’
Bella later screenshotted the harsh comment and shared it on her Story, adding: ‘Gave me an odd moment of dark comedy actually so thanks for your deranged message I guess?’
The writer was defended by fans, too, who urged the critic to ‘delete’ their comment.
@angelinalinker schooled them on how ‘part of Bella’s contract will have that she has to do promo at certain times’, while @ojfab said: ‘she’s literally crying in her story talking about it. People still have to work and get on with life too. Even if it’s s****y’.
‘Who are you telling someone what they can and can’t do while grieving?’, echoed @craigmc1983.
In his original statement, Greg, who adopted Barney with Bella from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2019, requested that followers not ‘pile in with DMs’ for the couple as they process their loss. He also turned off comments on his post.
Greg added that the pair were with him ‘at home in the garden in the sunshine’ when he went, but he still ‘can’t stop crying’.