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Dappy dropped by anti-bullying campaign

By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 18 January 2010

N-Dubz’s Dappy has been dropped from a campaign aimed at stopping bullying over mobile phones and the internet after he sent abusive text messages containing death threats to a Radio 1 listener last week.
 
As previously reported, Chloe Moody sent a message in to the Chris Moyles radio show while the band were being interviewed, calling them “losers” and branding Dappy “a little boy with a silly hat”. Dappy managed to take down her phone number and bombarded her with calls and texts, including one which said: “Your gonna die, U sent a very bad msg towards N Dubz on The Chris Moyels show yesterday Morning and for that reason u will never be left alone!! If u say sorry I will leave u alone u fuck”.
 
N-Dubz helped launch the government’s latest anti-bullying campaign, BeatBullying, last November with Schools Minister Ed Balls, releasing a song called ‘RU Cyber Safe’. At the time, Balls called them “great ambassadors” for the campaign. However, last week he condemned Dappy’s actions, saying: “This text message was completely unacceptable and it is right that he has not only apologised, but accepted there was no excuse for his behaviour. I know that many artists work with Beatbullying because they genuinely want to use their influence with young people to campaign against bullying. But that starts with ensuring their own behaviour sets the right example”.
 
Announcing that the group were being dropped from the campaign, a spokeswoman for it added: “BeatBullying in no way condones this behaviour and we stress that sending any threatening messages of any kind is completely unacceptable. Dappy’s behaviour is not becoming of an ambassador to young people. We have no further plans to work with the band”.
 
Both Dappy and the BBC have issued apologies over the incident.