Somers Freshman Admits to Creating Anonymous Instagram Accounts; Social Posts Target Classmates with Sexist, Racist, Homophobic Remarks
A Somers High School freshman who allegedly “slut-shamed” classmates anonymously last week on social media has now admitted to creating the hateful Instagram accounts, a Northern Westchester Examiner investigation has found.
This newspaper has obtained screenshots of a direct message exchange between the Somers freshman and another local student.
“Look it was me since your [sic] being really chill,” the freshman acknowledged after being pressed by the other student. “I literally don’t know what to do and OK imma [sic] get expelled and have to go back to my other school.”
“Bro I’m really really really sorry,” she also said.
The Northern Westchester Examiner has opted not to publish the name of the freshman. The investigation has yet to confirm whether any other students were involved in the creation and/or maintenance of the account.
The hate-laced Instagram posts, on an account called somerssluts2, feature photographs of female Somers High School students accompanied by racist, homophobic and sexist remarks.
“She was posting about girls she admired calling them out and potentially hurting their social record just so she could text them individually to tell the girls who are vulnerable that they are perfect,” 18-year-old Somers High School senior Bella Sirchia explained. “Her whole motive was merely to appear as a hero. By that, I was even more appalled that she thought it was okay to do that.”
The original Instagram account created by the freshman has since been shutdown. However, somerssluts2 remains active.
“Black people should be band [sic],” a post stated on the account.
“Stop trying to act like [you’re] black ugly [expletive],” another post stated.
“Down syndrome,” one caption said.
“Meet the gayrios,” another read.
The freshman offender also posted about herself in order to create deniability over her involvement.
A 17-year-old senior, who requested anonymity, said the behavior is out of character for Somers.
“I thought it was so weird to see posts like that, because I didn’t think that anyone in Somers would really act like that,” the senior said. “I usually think of us as a very friendly and family-like community. This seemed out of character. It was kind of shocking.”
Despite several Somers parents demanding the company delete the account, Instagram has allowed somerssluts2 to remain active.
“We have fewer people available to review reports because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, so we’re only able to review content with the most potential harm,” a comment from Instagram reads in response to community members who reported the account for hate speech. “If you don’t want to see somerssluts2 on Instagram, you can unfollow, mute or block them to hide their posts and comments from your feed.”
Somers teens are still reeling from an incident they say does not reflect the true nature of their community. Senior Isabella De Feo, 17, said she was “shocked that a girl would do this to other girls.”
“Here at Somers we are a loving, kind, and welcoming community and this account is absolutely a disgrace and is the opposite of what Somers is all about,” De Feo also commented.
Principal Mark Bayer, in a letter to the school community on Friday, noted how the perpetrator, if caught, would face “consequences that are in line with our student code of conduct.”
Since learning about the accounts, the school has reported them directly to Instagram and has also notified law enforcement, the principal said. Authorities have started an investigation. Bayer said due to the ongoing investigation, he would not be able to grant an interview request.
Phone messages left for Trooper Aaron Hicks, the public information officer at the State Police headquarters in Poughkeepsie, have not been returned. Attempts to reach the alleged perpetrator for an interview are ongoing. Instagram has not yet replied to a request for an interview.
This article will continue to be updated as new reporting details become available.
– Reporting by Ariel Markowski and Adam Stone.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.