Monica Kessler, a woman on TikTok called out the death threats and hateful comments directed at her after she was mistaken for a similarly named woman accused of reporting on Peanut The Squirrel (via Dexerto).
Over the weekend, the news of Instagram star Peanut the Squirrel's euthanization stunned the world. According to the owner, Mark Longo, who took to social media to announce the death, the squirrel was seized by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) along with a pet Raccoon after they received complaints of unsafe housing.
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The DEC said the pets were killed to test for rabies after the squirrel bit one of the agents who seized the pet. Longo’s announcement and his outrage at the officials over the death of his pets was supported by a huge number of social media users, who made their anger known in a barrage of posts on multiple platforms. Social media users also began speculating on the identity of the person who might have lodged a complaint that prompted the DEC agents to seize the pets.
Netizens zeroed in on a woman named Monica Keasler based on false assertions without any proof to back up the claims. As several people began targeting Keasler’s social media accounts with vitriolic comments, a woman named Monica Kessler was also doxxed by social media users, who unearthed her accounts mistaking her for a similarly named woman. In the wake of the gratuitous backlash, Monica Kessler took to TikTok and pointed out she was not Monica Keasler. She said:
“No, I didn’t have anything to do with a squirrel. Never reported a squirrel. Didn’t know anything about Peanut the squirrel until Saturday morning.”
Monica Kessler speaks out after being wrongly accused in Peanut The Squirrel's death
A woman on TikTok spoke out after being wrongly accused of Peanut The Squirrel’s death. Monica Kessler, who shares a similar name as Monica Keasler, the woman accused of reporting Mark Longo for owning Peanut The Squirrel, said she’s been receiving death threats and other hateful comments from netizens thinking she’s the one who reported the pets to DEC.
Kessler also called out social media users’ violent language against the accused saying this was not the way to handle the incident. It should be noted there is no evidence to support either Monica Keasler or Kessler reported Peanut The Squirrel to DEC. However, this didn’t stop fans from doxxing the women’s social media accounts.
After being wrongly accused and receiving death threats, Monica Kessler spoke out about being blamed for the death of Peanut The Squirrel. She said:
“What up, TikTok, she's the most hated girl on the internet. For all the wrong reasons. [I do not have] the same last name. If you open a video, and you’re going to comment on anything hateful, it takes two seconds to see many many people have commented saying it’s not me,” Via Dexerto.
Kessler continued that she didn't report the pets to the DEC, noting she was unaware of the squirrel’s existence until his death, which became viral news over the weekend. Kessler then called out social media users over targeting anyone with hateful comments over the pet’s death.
“Was this really the way we thought we should handle it anyways? Sending death threats and hateful comments?”
Kessler was referencing Social media users going after similarly named woman Monica Keasler, who was accused of reporting the squirrel. Netizens alleged Monica Keasler posted a confession on her social media account before deleting her profile following online backlash. However, when users demanded proof of the said confession, a fake TikTok account purporting to be Minica Keasler was created with only one post that included the alleged confession.
There is no evidence Monica Keasler or Monica Kessler reported on the squirrel. The owner Mark Longo also issued a plea to his followers to stop spreading misinformation.
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