The Smile singer revealed in a recent interview that she once rehomed an adopted dog to a shelter after she "ate" all of her family's passports during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lily Allen said that the dog whose name was Mary, was a "very badly behaved dog", and she tried "very hard" to care for her.
This led to the singer being on the receiving end of strong criticism following this revelation, including some writers of tabloid newspapers accusing her of "dumping my puppy". She also claimed to be the subject of "death threats" since this story broke.
Lily Allen responded to this backlash in a lengthy statement shared via her Instagram stories.
"People have been furiously 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 exactly what those articles are designed to do", she began. "I'm OK but it has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family".
Explaining how she rescued Mary from a shelter in New York City, Allen said that the pet soon developed "pretty severe" separation anxiety, and that she could not be left alone for more than 10 minutes.
She also sought advice from experts at the shelter, and the dog was later referred to a behavioural specialist and dog trainer.
Allen continued: "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," the 39-year-old continued. "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. I've had rescue dogs pretty consistently throughout my life since I was four years old, I'm pretty good at ascertaining a dog's needs, I have never been accused of mistreating an animal, and I've found this whole week very distressing".
Concluding this statement, Lily Allen also called on her followers to stop judging her on "clickbait articles", and listen to the full interview before they voice their opinions.
"It is distortion, and all you are doing by engaging with these stories is making more money for people who profit from sewing division and tearing us all apart (sic)", she said.
