Kate Lawler furiously hits back at trolls after she is accused of ‘abusing’ small businesses with cheap DIY project

Kate Lawler has hit back after being accused of ‘abusing’ and ‘criticizing’ small businesses.

The This Morning star, 43, tried to create her own balloon arch for her mother-in-law’s 70th birthday.

But after sharing her DIY skills with her 517,000 Instagram followers, she faced unexpected, harsh ridicule and heavy criticism.

Wanting to make the party special, Kate wanted to do something extra for the event, but after being quoted £250 she came up with a clever and convenient alternative.

Kate thought she would test her DIY skills and save money by making one herself.

She admitted that she knew her work wouldn’t be as refined as that of a professional, but she still wanted to give it a try since her party was only for 20 people.

The blonde beauty proudly showed off her £67 creation on Instagram, but professional balloon artists were quick to attack her in the comments.

One wrote: ‘As a balloon/prop/decoration company that does exactly this type of setup, I think you’ve just highlighted why it would be £200 from professionals. Yours does its job, but it cannot be compared.’

“You get what you paid for and I think you have seriously discriminated against all of us. Our costs include luxury branded balloons, skill and labor.”

“I guess if you’re happy, it’s done right, BUT to me it looks fucking awful, so many mistakes, but hey ho, whatever floats your boat!”

“Thanks Kate as you clearly know nothing about being a professional balloon artist and how much goes into our work. Not only that we put our heart and soul into our company, but it is also our time. How do you expect us to work for free? People might want to think carefully before criticizing how much it actually costs.”

‘Hahahahaha hahahahaha are you for real? That’s horrible. You didn’t even inflate the balloons well enough, and companies usually charge three times the retail price, but you clearly don’t understand that either. Jesus, my neck glows for you. Embarrassing’

‘And that’s why it looks like this. Get rid of it Kate, we ask what we ask because we do it for a living, for people who value beautiful things and their own time. it’s like saying you want to pay the following wholesale prices for clothes’

After receiving a series of harsh comments, Kate made a video to respond to the haters and trolls, saying she ‘can’t handle’ the backlash.

The mom said, “Guys, I’m getting all torn up on Instagram and I can’t handle it. I have to speak up, I have to stand up for myself.

‘All I did was buy an easel from Amazon, a welcome sign from Etsy and some balloons from Ginger Ray UK. I am being destroyed.

“I ‘abuse’ and ‘criticize’ the balloon arch community. Oh, the Karens are out!

”You should be ashamed of yourself Kate for not supporting small businesses! You just showed the internet what kind of person you really are, Kate!” I just made my own balloon arch!

‘Honestly, I can’t handle it! There are also people who can’t afford to pay £250 for a balloon arch if they are having a small gathering at home for twenty people, as I was for Sue’s birthday.

‘The average age was 70 years. They don’t care about big balloon arches.’

She then shrugged off the criticism by dancing with balloons she used to create the arch, while singing along to Kris Kristofferson’s Don’t Let The B*stards Get You Down.

This isn’t the only time Kate had to defend herself on her social media pages, as in November 2023 she was shamed in front of her mother.

She hit back at a troll who shamed her on Instagram after learning her daughter Noa is still sleeping in a crib.

A video of Noa, who turns three in February, singing under the mattress of her bed, prompted some invited responses from a follower.

The user left not one, but two comments, saying: ‘To be honest a bed would be better!!’

Kate simply replied, “She could never lift a bed mattress, though. So no.’ (on a video of her lifting her small mattress)

The follower said again: ‘She’s out growing (sic) and she’ll feel like a bigger girl in a small bed!!!!

Kate clapped back: ‘She doesn’t need a bed to feel like a ‘bigger girl’, please don’t tell others how their children will feel if you don’t know them.

‘This was also not a post to ask for advice about Noa’s sleeping arrangements. She is most content when we say goodnight and leave her room, extremely happy in her crib, sleeps through the night, never wakes us and sleeps until 7-8am.

“Why on earth would I turn her into a bed?” If she doesn’t have enough room to sleep or move, I’ll buy her a bed.’

The rest of Kate’s fans supported her and shared stories of their own children acting strangely in their cribs.

It’s a far cry from an earlier video from November, which showed a restless Noa throwing things out of her crib, and the most liked comments all suggested Kate buy her a bed.

“I feel like maybe she needs a bigger bed now? We just did that with our 2 year old and she sleeps so much better now x,” said one polite fan.

“She might be ready for a real bed now,” said another, and a slightly passive-aggressive fan said: “Her bed is so small! Is it a travel cot?’

A blunter fan said: ‘She should be in a normal bed???’

In December 2022, Kate shocked the internet when she shared a video of then-22-month-old Noa identifying different dog breeds.

Kate gave birth to her first child Noa Daisy Ilse in February 2021 and Kate admitted she was worried she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant due to her low egg count.

Noa’s father is Martin Bojtos, a podcast producer, whom Kate married in 2022 after nine years together.

Kate became the first female winner of Big Brother in 2002 when she won the third series of the show.