College Student Who Became Subject of Viral Rumor Speaks Out About Ordeal, Threatens Legal Action

• Mary Kate Cornett, a University of Mississippi student who became the center of an unsubstantiated viral rumor in February — which she and her family have continued to deny
• Cornett told The Athletic that she plans to take legal action against ESPN and The Pat McAfee Show for amplifying the rumor
• "I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done,” said the 18-year-old college freshman

University of Mississippi college student Mary Kate Cornett, 18, is continuing to detail her experience — and says she's threatening to take legal action — after a viral rumor falsely accused her of inappropriate behavior earlier this year.  

She and her family have previously denied speculation about the viral rumor that gained traction in February, calling it "categorically false."

“I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done,” the Ole Miss freshman said in a new interview with The Athletic published on Tuesday, April 1. “You’re ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention, but here I am staying up until 5 in the morning, every night, throwing up, not eating because I’m so anxious about what’s going to happen for the rest of my life.”

According to the outlet, the agony caused Cornett to remove her name outside her dorm room, temporarily relocate to emergency housing, switch to online classes and continue to spend most of her time in her room. Along with receiving vulgar comments in person and people taking her picture on campus, the 18-year-old has received vile and sexist messages after her phone number was posted online.

But the rumor has even allegedly had a terrifying effect on her loved ones. Her mother’s home was reportedly the scene of a "swatting" hoax that involved the Houston police, and other members of Cornett’s life have also been subject to alleged threats, including her boyfriend Solis and her grandfather.

Following the harassment, Cornett is now planning to take legal action against ESPN and popular talk show host Pat McAfee for allegedly further spreading the rumors, she told The Athletic.

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In a Feb. 26 taping of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, host McAfee and some of his colleagues (described as his “stooges” by him) reacted to an unsubstantiated rumor posted online the day before about Cornett, according to the report. (During the two-minute segment, McAfee didn’t name Cornett and emphasized the word “allegedly” in talking about the unverified online claim.)

Additionally, The Athletic reported that two Barstool Sports personalities referenced the rumor on their social media accounts. 

ESPN denied to comment to PEOPLE on Tuesday, April 1.

Despite the anguish, Cornett’s family is hoping to turn what happened to her into a positive outcome for other victims.

Justin, her father, has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser for defamed cyberattack and public doxxing victims who need help defending themselves, with a message from his daughter that vowed that 100% of the proceeds will go to these alleged victims.

“The only way I could describe it is it’s like you’re walking with your daughter on the street, holding her hand, and a car mirror snags her shirt and starts dragging her down the road. And all you can do is watch,” her dad told The Athletic at one point, speaking about the helplessness he felt. “You can’t catch the car. You can’t stop it from happening. You just have to sit there and watch your kid be destroyed.”

A lawyer for the Cornett family previously told PEOPLE the family is "doing very badly, as you can imagine" and that they're "pursuing all available options," including litigation.

The Oxford Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that there is an open investigation into the incident but declined to comment further.

PEOPLE contacted the Cornett family attorney, Barstool Sports and the Oxford Police Department for comments on Tuesday.