Triple J Breakfast Host Liam Stapleton Expands On Powerful R U OK? Day Speech On 'The Project'

After delivering an incredibly powerful and emotional speech about mental health on air yesterday, triple j breakfast host Liam Stapleton appeared on The Project last night to comment on the overwhelming feedback he has received. 

Speaking on the topic in support of R U OK? Day, the Adelaide radio presenter opened up on dealing with online trolls and negative comments he and co-host Ben Harvey have received since taking over from Matt Okine and Alex Dyson at the start of the year. 

"I can honestly say I've had nights where I've cry myself to sleep because of stuff like that," Stapleton said on Thursday.

"You get embarrassed, you get ashamed of people around you seeing that sort of stuff. I've had times where I've flown home back to Adelaide and just felt like a disappointment, a failure. Sometimes it’s pretty relentless as well. I've had times throughout the last eight months where I've opened messages to my personal account, and people are quite explicitly telling me to take my own life.

"And it knocks you around, especially as a young bloke. I've felt things in the last eight months that I've never felt before. I’ve felt properly worthless, honestly, for mornings, for days, for weeks sometimes."

Appearing on The Project last night, Stapleton admitted he never planned to go as deep into his personal experiences as he did. 

"When I started, it kinda started feeling like a bit of weight was lifting off my shoulders and I think it worked out to be about five minutes in the end, which is a long radio break, but I was really happy that it all got out there," he said.

When asked if he wanted to share a message to the online trolls, Stapleton kept it simple. 

"Your actions and your words do have repercussions," he said.

"I think, it's not just people in the public eye, it’s anyone online. Because, everyone is a target these days because everyone is so accessible."

See a clip of The Project appearance below.

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