Marcel said he was sent hateful messages and graphic images.

Marcel Somerville has opened up about the shocking racial abuse he received following the birth of his son. The former Love Island star welcomed his son Roman with fiancé Rebecca Vieira back in January. Speaking on the Let's Talk About It Podcast, Marcel said: "When Roman was born we were getting horrible stuff being sent. People said ‘oh another slave has been born’. They were putting up pictures of Roman with nooses around his neck." https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZ13iIrSLE/ Marcel, who was previously a member of British hip hop group Blazin' Squad, believes the fame he received from being on Love Island in 2017 has made him a target. "I was the first fully black person to be on Love Island. So I think from that and from being quite popular on the show it led to people wanting to be a bit horrible and send messages and all those kind of things. “I’ve got 100,000 people who follow me on Instagram because they don’t like me and they just want to do racist stuff.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CUVUx6vtccA/ Rebeca previously spoke to The Mirror about the online hate the couple had been receiving regarding their son. "I’m both scared and angry at the same time that people think it’s OK to be racist in this day and age," she said. "Most people have been really supportive and have sent lovely messages to me and Marcel but there have been a few horrible ones. On Saturday I received some really disturbing direct messages from one vile troll in particular who told me my son, Roman, was ugly. “I blocked them and they just created a new account to continue trolling me and my son. I hate it so much. How can anyone want to attack my Roman like that? “How many times am I gonna have to receive these kinds of messages before something is done about it?"