OK, this might be long but for disclosure - I was once a massive JM fan. Donated, bought books, used recipes and tweeted supportive comments during their low moments. I am not a TERF, nor a Tory - I'm possibly middle class, however I've been in moderate poverty before albeit without a child - these are all claims that JM supporters are purporting. Her campaigning for poverty and general political ideologies are ones I wholeheartedly support and have encouraged in the past.
In 2017 I noticed a myriad of inconsistencies in JM's stories on Twitter. Due to their mental health, and as a MH sufferer myself, I felt JM would benefit from taking some extended time away from social media as it became rather chaotic and they were being trolled. I found some of their content quite triggering so unfollowed - when Tin Can Cook came out I bought it and refollowed their account as I was in a better place.
Inconsistencies persisted. I could list a number of them here, but JM oscillated between being so unspeakably poor to being able to purchase large and expensive branded products. One minute JM was crippled by the numerous alignments they had, and the next they were claiming to walk 25k steps a day. They started a vicious pile on Jamie Oliver when he was granted a lockdown TV show, and targeted David Walliams (who I agree seems problematic) and accused him of cocaine usage. Tweets were furiously posted, followed by mass deletions when regular users (i.e.; not trolls) questioned discrepancies in accounts. JM slated subtly their partner (Louisa) who decided to leave during lockdown, and then acquired a very sick kitten who despite countless well meaning users advising her to have the kitten PTS as it was very clearly dying, JM insisted she knew best and was throwing all the money she had (whilst subtly hinting at requiring funds to do so) at sustaining the kittens life despite the vets advice. The kitten ended up dying as expected, alone in JM's bathroom, and they then proceeded to make a monetised YouTube video dedicated to it. I believe around this time JM claimed again to have no money, but then took a long break in Edinburgh including paying for the rather expensive Calledoian sleeper train.
Following this (summer 2020) JM created a Patreon with a variety of different tier's which all indicated that donating to this would subsequently result in donators receiving various "gifts". To date, no gifts, or indeed updates on where said gifts are, have been received by Patreon's. People have rightly questioned either the lack of gifts or updates, and to date JM has over 750 subscribers paying at the bottom tier, £3.50 a month - some far, far more.
JM's poverty cosplay entirely undermines the huge importance of their message(s). There is a lot of doubt as to whether JM was as unspeakably poor as she claim(ed) as her father is a wealthy (and MBE honoured) businessman (properties I believe) and her son's father has even had his own article in the Guardian written by JM speaking about how wonderful he is. JM also alludes to being a single parent endlessly, however their child (referred to as SB on Twitter) lives almost exclusively with his father. In the last week, despite repeatedly declaring that their Twitter receives death threats, rape threats and other unspeakably vile messages (which are abhorrent and should happen to no one), JM has suggested (and subsequently deleted mention of) that they will be handing over their SM to their 12 year old child to monitor and assess who becomes "friends" with their account as part of a summer holiday pocket money, resplendent with the token emotional blackmail that nobody should tweet JM aggressively as they will be seen by a "small child" (who at various junctures is either a tiny boy, or a strapping teenager).
In the same quarter that JM has claimed to be in a position somewhat like they started off with (the timing of the blog exactly ten years on from "Hunger Hurts" no less) they have enjoyed two overseas holidays, was supposed to be going to Glastonbury, has purchased a designer puppy (upwards of 2k) which is evidenced by their tweeting of visiting the litter, has had their hair braided and styled at Toni and Guy, has claimed that they will be buying the house they live in, in the future, and also claimed that as part of their ongoing sobriety, they have been putting a daily nominal amount into a savings pot (of which they have accrued a "decent" amount) that would have been spent on alcohol so they can take their child away on holiday. JM has then, in the last week, tweeted evidence of their accounts, minus this savings pot referred to within the last 10 days. To then blog about the crushing poverty they are experiencing again, and having to downsize from a (4 bedroom) property to a small flat (reminder - JM lives alone) and subsequently reference a place they can donate money to is disingenuous at best, and emotionally manipulative at worst.
Forums like Tattle have a lot of (correctly levied) criticism. They can be an incredibly toxic and horrific place to read. However, there is a detailed dossier on there of the various inconsistencies and variation in storyline by JM. Most of the people posting are more angry at the repeated lies and failure of disclosure whilst rattling a tin for money, and just want JM to get some serious help. A lot of them have genuine sympathy for JM and feel that they just needs some therapy (JM was actually an inpatient at rehab sometime last year and took an extended SM break, however appears to have come back more unstable that before) and to just be honest to alleviate the constant criticism.
It is with my sincerest hope that this recent situation will allow JM to take some time with the money they have accrued and look to directing their brilliantly advocating voice to some good, rather than persist in needing to fabricate stories to illicit sympathy and/or interest. It's not necessary - their voice is sound enough and I welcome the time JM is able to harness their inner strength and recover from this. I (and others I suspect) just have real concerns about the vulnerable in society (one person donated part of their winter fuel fund for a JM tin rattle) contributing to a person who continues to persist in creating false narratives.