*2024 Heisman winner Travis Hunter has deactivated his Instagram account amid widespread online criticism targeting his fiancée, Leanna Lenee.
The backlash began after videos from the Heisman Trophy ceremony showed Lenee sitting while others applauded Hunter’s win, prompting criticism of her demeanor. Additional footage from a fan event, where Lenee appeared frustrated as Hunter interacted with supporters, further fueled negative commentary.
In the video shared online by a fan, Lenee appeared to say to Hunter, “What do you want me to do…I’ll just sit here then.”
Following the incident, Hunter, 21, said on Twitch that Lenee drank and cried herself to sleep due to the backlash of her seemingly entitled behavior.
“You know the hurt when you just cry yourself to sleep,” Hunter said during his Twitch stream, noting that he didn’t want Leanna to “go to sleep sad” after drinking.
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“I know what I got. I know my girl. My girl’s been with me for five years,” Hunter added, PEOPLE reports. “Y’all are just now starting to talk about me and just now starting to be with me. Come on, man.”
On December 16, Lenee addressed the criticism on TikTok, explaining that her actions at the ceremony were misunderstood and that she was trying to figure out what to do after the event.
“I said, ‘Do you want me to sit here? Or do you want me to go with the family? Or do you want me to come with you?’ Because again, what y’all don’t know off of a seven-second clip, is those weren’t fans, by the way, he had already finished that part,” Lenee said.
“I wasn’t annoyed with no fans, at all. I’m never annoyed with fans,” Lenee said. “So that’s what that was.”
Hunter was subjected to further trolling when a photo recently surfaced of Leanna in a compromising pose with another man, who had his hand on her derriere. Boxing champ Claressa Shields took to Twitter to defend Hunter after he deactivated his social media accounts to preserve his mental health from the haters and trolls.
“This why I go off on y’all and hurt yall feelings! Why tf are you y’all trolling TRAVIS HUNTER for! Leave him tf alone! If he love the girl let him love her! Always in other mfs business! He too nice to yall ass!” she wrote, Ice Cream Convos reports.
“Mind yall MF’N business! Done made him deactivate his damn Instagram! I hate anybody who said something to him! Everybody not cut for that sh*t!” Shields added. “Go accomplish something instead of being mean to athletes and celebrities! Stg I wanna break yall damn fingers!”
In another tweet, she continued, “The point is everyone ain’t built for that trolling sh*t! Y’all don’t know what that young man go thru! He just won a Heisman Trophy and all yall care about is his gf not standing up on time! Or his gf past or her saying he wasn’t her type. Y’all are miserable! Leave folks alone! Yes I said it!”
Shields went on to address mental health and bullying, writing, “Same mfs yelling ‘mental health is real’ be the same ones doing the bullying! I’ve conquered my depression, anxiety & suicidal thoughts 2 years ago! But fk y’all I’m Built for y’all losers! I can get just as dirty and mean! So when y’all talking crazy just know… imma mf!”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Heisman Trophy Winner Travis Hunter Defends Fiancée Amid Social Media Critique | VIDEO
