Mike Tindall admits to feeling frustrated by online abuse

Mike Tindall has shared his feelings of frustration following the recent controversy over his company's use of furlough.

• The former rugby player responded to online trolls in his podcast on Wednesday, after the tabloid press accused him of wrongfully financial assistance. 
• Mike had previously said, "you always worry about money" before it was revealed his company had claimed furlough. 
• In other Royal News, the Queen reportedly calls ‘emergency meetings’ over Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s royal patronages.
  

Mike Tindall has shared his experience of social media abuse in a recent discussion on his podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby.

The former English rugby player revealed his frustrating experience of online trolling to co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne, following last week’s tabloid reports that he had wrongfully claimed furlough payments. 

"It's quite interesting how many people crawl out of the woodwork on the line below,” he said. 

The husband to the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Tindall, went on to detail the barrage of abuse from anonymous Internet users. “I don't think I've ever been called a [bleeped] as many times by random people who have got ten followers and don't put their own profile picture...they have a mask that you rob a bank with. I was like, 'Well, I don't really care what you think.” 

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Mike’s financial affairs came under major scrutiny last week after the Sun published an article alleging his company was claiming furlough assistance. Despite no evidence that Mike himself was receiving the money, multiple press outlets blasted the business owner for embarrassing the royal family by seeking government aid. 

Mike squashed the outrage on the podcast, providing a simple explanation for the claim. "Obviously the furlough scheme is there and I did have one person working for me who had nothing to do so she went on furlough which is why the system was in place because there was nothing for her to do and she can't come to work,” he said. 

Now retired from professional rugby, Mike currently earns a living from his firm, Kimble Trading. 

When asked about his feelings on the false accusations, he didn’t hold back. “Obviously I was pissed off,” he admitted. 

“For some reason they thought, I have £15.4m but I was taking £584 a month on the furlough scheme...hmm, makes sense if you’ve got £15.4m.” The dad-of-two also took issue with the Sun's estimate of his net worth. "We sodded off homeschooling to try and find this 15.4m...we still haven't managed to find it." 

Despite his initial irritation, Mike seems to have recovered from the ordeal. 

“It’s been an interesting week, but we got an apology in the end,” he said.