Mary Kate Cornett raced to her boyfriend’s home after the Ole Miss student learned the couple was at the center of a viral rumor that she had slept with his father, according to a police report she filed that was obtained by TMZ.
Cornett, 18, began trending online this week, with her name and image also circulating, along with boyfriend Evan Solis, due to the false narrative — which she said was spread by public figures including ESPN host Pat McAfee and Barstool Sports.
In the police report, Cornett says she was at a salon in Oxford when she first found out about the rumor, and that she is the victim of cyberstalking and harassment.
Mary Kate’s parents, Leslie and Justin Cornett, flew from Houston to Mississippi to be with their daughter.
“We felt absolutely helpless,” Justin told TMZ, emphasizing they want to keep their 18-year-old daughter safe amid what’s been a difficult time for the family.
Leslie added that Mary Kate was treated “like she wasn’t a human being” online.
Cornett and Solis, a former high school football player, have both denied the rumors in separate statements on their Instagram pages.
In a GoFundMe page created in her name by her father, Mary Kate said she filed reports with University of Mississippi campus police, local police and the FBI.
“Rest assured, all criminal charges and civil remedies will be pursued vigorously,” she said, adding the situation led her to seek “alternative education/living arrangements.”
Mary Kate explained that she is “the victim of a deliberate and coordinated cyber attack spreading categorically false and defamatory information.”
She alleged that “partially and wholly edited screenshots, fake AI generated videos and manipulated photographs have been promoted by irresponsible social media participants and amplified by thousands of fake accounts.”
Barstool employee KFC discussed the scandal on his personal social media accounts and McAfee brought up the alleged accusations in an interview with Adam Schefter this week.
Former NFL player Antonio Brown also weighed in on the situation.
“No one affiliated with these organizations ever reached out to us for comment,” Cornett said of the public figures and companies she named. “Most alarmingly, my personal contact information has been doxed illegally shared publicly, putting my personal safety at risk. Many notes sent suggest I even take my own life.”
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy denied the accusations and said “We do not control our employees’ personal socials. Whatever they post on their own is their own stuff.”
Justin also denied the allegations in a separate post on Facebook.
