Over the years rapper Professor Green has been admirably open about many aspects of his life, bravely revealing tales about his impoverished upbringing, addiction issues and battle with depression.
It made him so sympathetic a figure that he was hired to make several BBC documentaries about his difficulties, including programmes on suicide and homelessness, as well as one on drugs called Is It Time to Legalise Weed?.
Among bosses at the Beeb, he was much revered for his honest and empathetic outlook.
And this week, the East Londoner – real name Stephen Manderson – attracted sympathy once again when he revealed that he and his ex-wife Millie Mackintosh shared a ‘trauma bond’, claiming they had both suffered from undiagnosed ADHD when they were together.
This latest revelation came shortly after former Made In Chelsea star Millie confessed that she and the heavily tattooed rapper almost didn’t get married back in 2013 because he nearly called off their wedding.
It once again prompted an outpouring of sympathy for Green. But not from me, I’m afraid. Because back in 2013, the rapper showed his true colours when he launched a vicious tirade against me on Twitter (now X).
Back in 2013 Professor Green showed his true colours when he launched a vicious tirade against me on X
That summer I had written a story about him buying a house with Millie in Peckham, south-east London (not the sort of upmarket enclave I’d have expected West London girl Millie to move to), and Green was so furious that he accused me of identifying where his home was.
Not only was this a false allegation, but it was accompanied by a barrel of misogynistic bile.
‘She practically printed my address – she’s a fat pig-faced c**t of a no news wh*re’, he ranted in a post he shared with his one million followers.
Former Made In Chelsea star Millie confessed that she and the heavily tattooed rapper almost didn’t get married back in 2013 because he nearly called off their wedding
‘I had my life and privacy put at risk by this woman and people have the cheek to defend her? What did I ever do to her?’
For the record, I did not ‘practically print’ his address – I merely said he had bought a house in Peckham. As it’s a large borough with about 30,000 households, it would have been almost impossible to identify his house, let alone his street or even neighbourhood, from any information included in my story.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that, at the time, Green and Millie were actively putting themselves out there as the ‘It couple’ of the moment, and luxuriating in the attention they got from the Press.
But Green’s insults didn’t stop there.
‘I worked my a*** off to make good of my life, only to have everything I’ve worked for put at risk by Katie Hind,’ he went on. ‘So now please explain to me why i shouldn’t be free to talk of this woman as i want, just like she has of me?’
The rapper added: ‘It’s funny because a majority of journo’s [sic] aren’t malicious – shame there’s a few rotten apples. I love women, I was raised by two of the strongest I’ve ever known and I’m marrying the most incredible girl I’ve ever met.
Millie later clearly saw the light and they split amid much acrimony
‘But this woman wrote a disgusting article of which the tone was disgusting and belittling and basically gave away my address. To have all of that put in jeopardy by this woman for the sake of a piece of non-news is not OK.’
Green’s rant prompted a torrent of abuse towards me from his fans. While all of them were pretty insulting, two stood out. One follower threatened to come to my work and kill me, while another said something so disgusting it is impossible to repeat in a family newspaper.
Thankfully, I was on holiday in Greece when this blew up, which meant my life was not in imminent danger – but Green didn’t know that.
He later made a half apology for his deranged and violent rant, writing: ‘I was wrong calling you a wh*re, for that I apologise – but I stand by what a sad malicious tragic and vindictive woman you are.’
A day later, Green wrote me a three-page letter to say sorry, giving me a sob story about how difficult his life had been. I replied to explain that, as a celebrity with a platform, he should be more responsible – something which he accepted.
But he wasn’t prepared to say this publicly. And so the abuse towards me carried on for several more days before he finally put out a plea to his fans to stop harassing me. It was far too little, far too late.
Eventually, the insults stopped and words, of course, cannot kill you – so we all moved on.
The East London rapper attracted sympathy when he revealed that he and his ex-wife Millie Mackintosh shared a ‘trauma bond’, claiming they had both suffered from undiagnosed ADHD when they were together
He was dating Millie at the time and I recall wondering just what on earth the Quality Street heir was doing with such a misogynistic moron. Three years later, Millie clearly saw the light and they split amid much acrimony.
She is now married to her former Made In Chelsea co-star Hugo Taylor, who cheated on her in 2011 with another of the show’s cast, Rosie Fortescue (although it’s something she has always denied).
Today, Green says that he doesn’t harbour any resentment towards Millie – despite their split being toxic at the time, with Green tweeting many alleged insults about the star – but sadly the same can’t be said about me and him.
While I will always accept that celebrities may not like what I write about them and therefore are entitled to respond, he behaved appallingly – and is clearly a hypocrite.
Green showed his true self back in July 2013 and I will never forget it – no matter how many sob stories he shares.
