Lockdown clearly has internet trolls reaching for new lows because, over the weekend, Hilary Duff had to make clear that she’s not part of a child sex trafficking ring. Yes, you read that correctly.
If that sounds entirely ludicrous, imagine how the “Lizzie McGuire” star felt when she woke up Saturday morning only to see her name trending on Twitter due to an unhinged conspiracy theory that she tried to traffic her own 8-year-old son, Luca.
It started when a Twitter user shared a clip from Duff’s recent Instagram Stories in which she was sharing a collection of family snapshots taped to a wall that included an entirely innocent photo of her son nude, which she censored with a sticker.
“Someone pointed out on Instagram that I did a nude of him, which I did, so we covered that up with sticker,” Duff said lightheartedly in the video.
That was apparently enough for other people online to concoct a baseless theory ― similar to the bizarre QAnon attacks against Oprah earlier this year ― that Duff is somehow involved in child sex trafficking.
The “Younger” star called the allegation “disgusting” and hit back in a tweet of her own.