Lily Allen received 'death threats' in cruel trolling over returning adopted puppy

Lily Allen has spoken out after being on the receiving end of cruel online trolls. The Smile singer was targeted by criticism, with some people allegedly even "sending death threats", after reports of her returning an adopted puppy.

It was reported that she adopted the puppy - named Mary - during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the dog had eaten the family's passports in a move that Lily described as "the straw that broke the camel's back."

Explaining what happened on her Miss Me? podcats, the 39-year-old singer said: "[The dog] ate all three of our passports and they had our visas in and I cannot tell you how much money it cost me to get everything replaced because it was in Covid. And so it was just an absolutely logistical nightmare.

"And because the father of my children lives in England, I couldn't get them back to see their dad for like four months, five months, because this f****ing dog had eaten their passports. I just couldn't look at her. I was like, 'You've ruined my life'."

"It just didn't work out and the passports was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak," she added.

As a result, Lily spoke out today (August 25) claiming to have had "abhorrent messages" including "death threats". She said it has been a "really tough" few days.

In a post on her Instagram Stories, the singer said: "People have been reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry and as a result I've received some really abhorrent messages including death threats, some of the most disgusting comments have been all over my social media channels, and I'm really not surprised because this is what those articles are designed to do."

She added: "I'm ok but it has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family."

Clarifying what actually happened with Mary the dog, Lily continued: "We rescued our puppy Mary from a shelter in NY and we loved her very much, BUT she developed severe separation anxiety and would act out in all manner of ways. She couldn't be left alone for more than 10 mins, she had 3 long walks a day, 2 by us and 1 with a local dog walker and several other dogs.

"We worked with the shelter that we rescued her from and they referred us to a behavioural specialist and a professional trainer. It was a volunteer from the shelter who would come and dog sit her when we were away, and after many months and much deliberation everyone was in agreement that our home wasn't the best fit for Mary."

She added: "The person that she was rehomed with was known to us and that rehoming happened within 24 hours of her being returned. We couldn't meet Mary's needs and her happiness and welfare were central to us making that decision, as difficult as it was."

The singer went on to say that she has had dogs for her whole life and has "never mistreated an animal". She added: "I've found this whole week very distressing."