A social media user who posted a selfie after buying flowers for his date was shamed by incels, or "involuntary celibates," who flooded the comments with toxic messages about him and his classic romantic gesture.
On December 12, Marcus Skeet—a.k.a. @Thehullboy1 on X (formerly Twitter)—shared a public bathroom mirror selfie posing in a black North Face puffy coat while holding a bouquet of flowers.
He captioned it with, "First ever date tonight, absolutely bricking it. Wish us luck ladies and gentlemen," followed by a nervous smiling emoji.
"Bricking it" is a slang term meaning extreme nervousness or worry.
According to the Daily Dot, Skeet's post received nearly 127M views, 435K likes, and over 9.4K comments within eight days of posting.
Unfortunately, the harmless post drew scrutiny from misogynistic trolls who ridiculed him for the romantic gesture, calling it a "sign of weakness" and that "dating [has] changed."
Many of the hateful remarks were from guys who claimed to know what women want.
X user @vashgofrey shared screenshots of the toxic messages, writing:
"Dude posted a nice photo about his first date and now r/incel talk is stinking up his comment section."
One user claimed Skeet's date would put him in the "friend-zone" and "give the bad boy next door" oral sex instead because that was how "female brains work."
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Skeet was also body-shamed and bullied for his looks.
The term "incels" has entered internet parlance to describe people, typically men, who are bitter about their lack of sexual experiences due to their constant failure to attract women sexually.
As a result, they attack those who do find success with dating.
The Anti-Defamation League defines incels as “heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success.”
In response to the unwarranted backlash from Skeet's innocuous tweet, true romantics defended him for the classy dating etiquette.
Skeet has since updated followers indicating how the date went.
"The date went well!!," he wrote and added:
"Was very nervous and probably shouldn’t have posted about it on socials haha but blown away by the support, thank you!"
"Would never had thought even a few months ago I’d have the confidence never mind the right mental health to go on a date."
"We keep battling, mental health matters."
In a follow-up, Skeet explained why there wouldn't be a second date.
He wrote:
"This is so weird doing a 'date update' but had hundreds of messages and a few people come up to me asking about an update so I thought id put one last thing about it all."
"Gutted but with the distance of where we live and one or two logistic things a relationship just wouldn’t work. Think she’s a blooming brilliant person, who deserves the world and I hope our paths cross again in the future."
After receiving the flood of hate-filled comments, Skeet said he learned an important lesson but has no regrets.
"Can safely say I will never post about a date on social media again haha," he wrote, adding, "But I do not regret giving flowers, don’t want to change who I am as a person. Just going to focus on the gym for a bit."
Despite the bullying, Skeet's positive outlook is inspiring, given his ongoing struggle with mental health.
In September, Skeet ran 26.2 miles in his first marathon in London to raise money for MIND, a mental health charity in England and Wales.
He set up a GoFundMe campaign tied to his participation in the marathon and explained in the description he had been suffering for three years "with bad mental health" and praised MIND for its outreach efforts in helping to save lives.
A positive story that went viral was news that Skeet received a £5,000 (USD 6,263.00) donation from former NFL star J.J. Watt.
When Watt thanked the anonymous donor for the generous contribution, Watt confirmed his identity and penned a heartfelt response, writing:
“Wishing you all the best on Saturday Marcus. Working hard to not only improve yourself, but also make the world a better place around you. That is truly commendable."
"Keep inspiring people, you never know how far your efforts may reach.”
The Daily Dot presumed Skeet's heightened visibility in the media likely sparked the online abuse from bitter individuals who focus on undermining the success of others instead of working on their own misery.
Skeet addressed the online toxicity in the past following his announcement that he completed his "second ever marathon" in December.
"Just want to add, words DO hurt," he wrote. "Even faceless accounts who do it for clicks."
Skeet continued:
"You never know what someone is going through and even the odd comment could push someone over the edge. Huge thank you for the beautiful messages I’ve received. I am so grateful for every one of you."
"One day I’ll prove the haters wrong."
"Mental health matters."
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