Taryn Manning posted an alarming Instagram caption announcing that she would not be attending the Orange Is The New Black season 7 premiere due to "unfortunate uncontrollable circumstances." In an interview with The Blast, Manning clarified her state of mind, saying that she was not suicidal but that she's dealing with cybercriminals who have hurt her finances and erased data from her personal devices, making her feel unsafe traveling.
"This is for anyone who feels alone, terrorised by cyber criminals, cyber bullying, criminals with the intent to cause others distress and isolate them from life, for people who have lost everything due to another humans mental illness and smear campaigns," Manning wrote in her caption. "This is for you too so you don’t feel so alone. It even happens to people who seemingly have the resources to stop it too. This is for my 'team' of agents, managers and lawyers who didn’t do anything to help me."
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Manning told The Blast that her managers and lawyers did not respond to her requests for help, and the outlet reports that one of her publicists dropped her. Refinery29 has reached out to her team for clarification.
"Cyber criminals are after me," she told The Blast. "I don't exactly know how it is happening but [it] is." Manning says money is being taken from her account, music and pictures are being erased from her Macbook Pros, and that the attacker has been contacting her friends, family, and reps. She says she has lost work because of their behavior, and that issues with cyberstalking and attacks have been a part of her life for years.
"Oh Taryn. I’m so sorry for your pain," OITNB creator Jenji Kohan commented on Instagram. "And I care. Very much."
Manning followed up her initial post with a promise that she is okay.
This is a developing story.