Critics of my animal farm have made life hell – Jodie Marsh

Jodie Marsh has said critics targeting her animal sanctuary online have made her life "hell".

The ex-glamour model said online "trolls" had damaged her mental health as they tried to get her Fripps Farm rescue centre in Lindsell, near Great Dunmow, Essex, shut down.

"It's because of who I am. It's prejudice and discrimination against me," said Marsh of animosity directed at her, which has included allegations of poor animal welfare.

She spoke to the BBC having won a legal battle against Uttlesford District Council in June, after it refused her a wild animal licence.

The 47-year-old appeared in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002 and became a regular face in the tabloid newspapers.

She took her local council to court after it did not allow her to adopt eight ring-tailed lemurs at Fripps Farm, which she founded in 2020 and used OnlyFans to partly fund.

But a judge at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court overruled this, stating the council ignored evidence proving Marsh was a suitable keeper.

She already cared for alpacas, emus and reptiles at the private 3.5-acre (1.4-hectare) site, which has attracted criticism from other villagers.

District Judge Christopher Williams said there was "considerable animosity" between all involved.

A Freedom of Information request, submitted by the BBC, has now revealed the local authority spent £34,323 on the case, including £19,641 it was ordered to pay Marsh in costs.

"I think it's disgusting they spent that money on me, absolutely disgusting," Marsh said.

"The whole lot of them need sacking, all of them at Uttlesford. They're totally incompetent."

People who have campaigned against Fripps Farm attended several hearings to voice their opposition to Marsh's keeping of animals.

She claimed since the court ruling, "trolls" were using artificial intelligence to create videos of her animals looking unwell and post them online.

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Marsh said the impact of being "vilified" online and in person had made her life "hell".

"It's actually made me suicidal. I've had to go to the doctors, properly suicidal and crying my eyes out," she said, revealing she had been prescribed anti-depressants.

"It's hurting me mentally because I just can't cope with the level of trolling.

"That's how they make you feel when all you're trying to do is help animals."

During the court case, the judge criticised the council for providing "completely contradictory views" on Marsh.

He also questioned why the authority said the lemurs would be too noisy, despite its experts admitting this was "impossible to measure".

Reflecting on this, Marsh told the BBC she believed the planning committee had an agenda against her, a consequence she alleged came from having "the biggest house in the village".

"They hate me for it," she said. "I think it's hurt their pride."

Some of the opposition against Marsh, both from the council and her online critics, focused on her taking a meerkat to the pub and sharing a bed with it.

Giving evidence at court, Andrew Bonham, the council's senior environmental health officer, said "the character of Ms Marsh" was taken into consideration by councillors rejecting her application.

He told the hearing that allowing Marsh to keep the lemurs would have attracted an influx of complaints and accused her of not allowing noise readings to be taken.

A council spokeswoman told the BBC its decision to refuse her a licence "followed a properly constituted council process" by elected councillors, "based on a range of evidence presented".

She added the authority had a legal duty to deal with Marsh's appeal, a process it said required unavoidable expenditure.

Marsh said it was hurtful to hear concerns about Fripps Farm as it had been her life's dream.

"I only went into showbiz to try and earn enough money to start an animal sanctuary," she claimed.

"I ride a Harley-Davidson; I used to get my boobs out for a living; I've been a stripper; I was the biggest party girl in London.

"Now I am just an animal rescuer. I live every day in old clothes and no make=up, covered in animal poo.

"People often still only see the one side, but this is the real me."

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