Mary Kate Cornett, a nineteen-year-old University of Mississippi student (Ole Miss) was the subject of an internet rumor that, according to her, “ruined” her life. She and her family have faced an overwhelming amount of harassment and insults about a false rumor about her and her boyfriend’s father that went viral online.
Cornett said her friends first told her about a rumor that was spreading on YikYak, an anonymous messaging-based app used by some college students, about a college student at her university and sorority who was sleeping with her boyfriend’s father.
Within an hour and a half of the rumor spreading, Cornett started noticing people staring at her on campus and, eventually, saw that her name was a top trending topic on X, with “hundreds and hundreds” of posts falsely identifying her as the person at the center of the rumor.
The rumor involving Cornett, was discussed on “The Pat McAfee Show” by the host, a former NFL player, and his guests as a “ménage à trois” at Ole Miss. Cornett and her boyfriend were not mentioned by name in the ESPN show. In the episode, which aired on Feb. 26, McAfee says an “Ole Miss frat bro” allegedly “had a K-D (Kappa Delta) girlfriend.” McAfee shared a clip about the discussion online to his 3.2 million X followers, which was captioned “What’s going on at Ole Miss” featuring two laughing crying face emojis, with 1.8 million viewers.
She said that she, her boyfriend and his father were shocked. She stated publicly, “It was so insane. It all happened so fast,” I was just in shambles. I just felt so helpless and so alone because so many people were hating on me for something that I had no idea anything about.”
In another interview, she expressed her feelings tearing up: “Having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world. It makes you feel so alone. It’s a horrible experience” (NBC News).
Cornett said she intends to take legal action against McAfee and ESPN, and potentially others who, she said, helped spread the rumor. She also stated expressed that “tThis has affected me in such an awful way and has practically ruined my life,” adding that McAfee “never once reached out to ask me if this was true or for me to give any sort of statement to him” (NBC News).
To make matters worse, police showed up to Cornett’s mother’s home in Houston, with guns drawn in what she described as an apparent “swatting” incident, which is the act of making a false report of extreme violence in order to elicit an overwhelming law enforcement response to someone’s home. NBC News has reviewed screenshots of security camera footage of the incident, provided by Cornett’s attorney, confirming that the “swatting” occurred. Additionally, Cornett’s number was shared online and got an overwhelming amount of calls and texts, with some telling her she “deserved to die.” As a result, she could barely leave her dorm room and had to switch to online classes.
