General Hospital's Tabyana Ali speaks out against racist online trolling
Tabyana Ali, who has played Trina Robinson on General Hospital since 2023, had found joy with the role, but lately, that joy has turned to sorrow and doubt due to the attacks of online trolls.
The situation became especially difficult this year, leading Ali to voice her thoughts on X (formerly Twitter). Now, Deadline has given Ali the opportunity to do a deeper dive into her thoughts as part of its Hollywood Mental Health Crisis series. The actress penned a guest essay published on July 25, explaining how the hurtful online comments have affected her.
Ali began the essay by talking about her first audition for Trina back in 2018. She was one of the finalists for the role, but it eventually went to Sydney Mikayla. When she auditioned again in 2022, she didn't even realize she was up for Trina again until she was cast. She believed she was auditioning for a brand-new character.
Although developing an online presence wasn't a requirement for the job, Ali felt it was necessary and explained why.
"No one told me I had to maintain a social media presence, but in this era of the industry it certainly feels like there’s an unspoken expectation to maintain a presence," Ali wrote. "Social media allows you to help build your brand while giving fans an opportunity to relate to you by sharing a glimpse of your life."
However, she did not know the drawbacks of social media life in the spotlight until she got warnings from a co-star.
"I first found out about the trolls from another cast member who was sharing their own experience with online bullying and explaining why they have their social media platforms set up the way they do," she said.
Sadly, Ali began experiencing the same thing, although not right away.
"Eventually I got my own taste of it," Ali wrote. "It started out with the small things at first, but got progressively worse and eventually resulted in racially charged and life-threatening comments that were incredibly hurtful and damaging."
Comments about Ali's race and looks began weighing on her and affecting her self-esteem.
"I started having self-esteem issues that led me to start questioning my self-worth. I would see comments suggesting that because I’m Black, I’m not as attractive as my on-screen counterparts and that I shouldn’t be in an interatrial relationship," she disclosed as she referenced Trina's relationship with Spencer Cassadine.
After talking with a friend who had some of the same experiences, she made a conscious choice to not allow the toxicity to hurt her.
"Even with all the accomplishments I had made in my career and beyond, I still accepted the negative comments as some part of the truth," Ali said. "It took some months of letting go of the narrative and accepting that I’m not mediocre, that I am beautiful, that I have value, and that I am talented. I look in the mirror now and wonder why I ever questioned that in the first place. I think about how offensive that is to God, to my mother and ones that came before. It’s not even about me. I’m something God created. I’m a product of them."
In June, vile racist comments from one particular X troll prompted Ali to speak out in a series of tweets. After she expressed her feelings, ABC reached out to the actress, offering its support. Ali was grateful to have her bosses on her side. The outpouring of love from her co-stars also meant the world to her.
"I felt so grounded and so grateful hearing from them," Ali wrote. "I don’t think they understood how much that meant to me. My castmates/friends, both within the GH family and beyond, were also so supportive. They all rallied together and shared such encouraging words."
Now, Ali does what is best for her when she sees negative social media comments. She shuts them off.
"I know what social media is. When I’m tired of it, I’ll turn off my phone, touch some grass, see the sun, eat a delicious meal, and find something to do. Peace around the world for generations!" Ali concluded.
