Roland Bunce has dropped out of the Make Me The Next Top Model competition after claiming he was abused and threatened.
"It was a big honour to win and it's been fun but the amount of abuse I've been getting since Thursday is out of control and I've now just been threatened,” the 24-year-old from Belfast posted on his Facebook page.
"Thanks to everyone who has supported me but I am now bowing out before this gets any worse."
Next is currently holding its third annual Make Me a Model Contest, in which "regular people" can submit photos of themselves to try their luck at landing a new modelling career.
The public can vote on their favourites to determine who moves on in the competition.
After Bunce entered his photo into the competition, his Facebook page quickly went viral. Facebook and Twitter users told voters to "help Roland break the conventional beauty barrier," and fans said that, "a vote for Roland is a vote for reality.”
Bunce quickly earned a well-deserved 66,000 votes.
Before dropping out, Bunce beat 5,000 other contestants, solidifying his spot in the top 250.
On July 30, judges will announce the winner of the competition. The winner receives a £2,000 shopping spree at Next, a photo shoot and an introduction to a modelling agency.
Bunce will always be our top model!
