'Our president... Barraco Barner': Lancashire beautician sparks worldwide Twitter ridicule after getting Obama's name spectacularly wrong in tweet about Ukraine crisis
- Gemma Worrall, 20, from Blackpool, was worried about foreign politics
- She tweeted about Obama being 'our president', misspelling his name
- Her message was retweeted more than 6,000 times around the world
- She was sent bullying messages, calling her 'stupid cow' and 'oxygen thief'
- Today Miss Worrall said her parents were 'fuming and embarrassed'
- She added: 'I have an English GCSE but maybe I should stay out of politics'
- As Miss Worrall's fame spread, people leapt to her defence online
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When a young British beautician realised relations between Russia and Ukraine were at crisis point, she decided to share her feelings on Twitter.
Without pausing to check her facts, or her spelling, Gemma Worrall, 20, wrote: 'If barraco barner is our president, why is he getting involved with Russia, scary.'
Within hours, Miss Worrall, from Blackpool, was trending in countries around the world as her message was retweeted thousands of times.
Tweet: Blackpool beautician Gemma Worrall, 20, wrote this without checking her facts - or her spelling
Worried about the situation in Russia: But when Miss Worrall's error-strewn tweet went global, she was bullied
Reaction: Former footballer turned DJ Ian Wright joined thousands around the world in laughing at Miss Worrall
Cruel reaction: Some people took it upon themselves to send unkind messages to the young beautician
Miss Worrall, who works at a Blackpool beauty salon, deleted the tweet but the damage had already been done
By the time she had realised her mistakes, and deleted the tweet, it had already been screengrabbed and shown on television programmes in Australia and Belgium, among others.
The hashtag #barracobarner was trending around the world, and new spoof accounts @BarracoBarner (UK prez, chilling at Number 10) and Michelleo Barner (First Lady of the United States of Britain) were set up.
Meanwhile the beautician, who works in a salon in Blackpool, was being invited onto TV and radio chat shows and having to fend off unkind comments calling her 'stupid', 'spaz' and 'dumb' on the social media site that made her name.
The youngster tried to correct the situation, writing a tweet saying : 'Right, I get it, I'm no good with politics I'll just shh now'.
And she pleaded with people to stop retweeting her original message, adding: 'CAN'T BREATHE, wtf is going on, phone's blowing up - retweets.'
She eventually signed off: 'Feel tight on my nan. She’s going to have a heart attack when she sees me in the paper.'
Today she described the reaction to
her tweet as 'unbelievable', and said she had received bullying threats
from around the world.
Miss Worrall says she being sent bullying messages from strangers because of her tweet has been 'awful'
Unpleasant reaction: Miss Worrall, who works in a beauty salon in Blackpool, was surprised by the vitriol of others
Reaction: Despite deleting the original tweet, screengrabs of it appeared on Australian and Belgian news
Despite Miss Worrall putting on a brave face, she admitted the comments she received upset her
Miss Worrall added: said: 'The response I have had from people has been awful - I have had messages from strangers calling me a "stupid cow" and an "oxygen thief."
'Some of the comments I was getting were funny and I could have a good laugh at myself, but others were just brutal and extreme.
'Luckily I see the funny side, but I can now see how cyber bullying can really affect people.
'I might have had a bit of a ditzy moment but I don’t deserve to be called such horrible names - I am harmless, and didn’t mean to offend anyone with my tweet.'
The beautician, who said her parents were 'fuming and embarrassed’, said: 'The tweet was just a spelling mistake. I was watching the news and tried to act clever but it back-fired.
'I have an English GCSE but I admit I don’t take much interest in politics and stuff like that. Maybe I should stay out of politics.'
But this afternoon, as her fame spread, Miss Worrall was on the receiving end of a raft of supportive tweets and comments, with people congratulating her on taking an interest in politics and thanking her for cheering them up.
Media storm: Miss Worrall was inundated with messages of support as news of her tweet spread
Positive reaction: As Miss Worrall's fame spread, people flocked to show their support with kind messages
Fame and fortune? Many commenters suggested Miss Worrall could consider a change of career to reality television
Kind words: After an initial surge of cyber-bullies, people thanked Miss Worrall for cheering them up
Well done: Others on Twitter praised Miss Worrall for not being upset by unkind messages from strangers
Spoof account: As Miss Worrall's tweet went viral, a joke account for 'Barraco Barner, UK prez' was set up
Another one: There's also a 'Michelleo Barner' Twitter account for the 'First Lady of the United States of Britain'
Miss Worrall confused US President Barack Obama, left, with UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, right
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ITO, Central Texas, United States, 3 hours ago
Barraco Barner !!! I love it! The guy makes GW look smart and this just became his new name.