In January 2020, French 16-year-old Mila Orriols was embroiled in a controversy over remarks she made about Islam on Instagram. A Muslim commenter had referred to her as a “dirty lesbian” after she discussed her sexuality while broadcasting live. Following this, she made retaliatory comments criticizing Islam, calling it a “religion of hate” and pre-empting accusations of racism by asserting “you cannot be racist against a religion.”

“I hate religion. The Qur’an is a religion of hate … I said what I thought; you're not going to make me regret it.” - Mila

As a result of these comments, Mila received death threats, and her personal information was found and amplified publicly online. Due to safety concerns, she stopped attending school in the wake of the incident, and police protection was given her and her family. An investigation into her harassers was opened, as was an investigation into Mila herself for hate speech; the latter, however, was quickly dropped, as investigators found Mila’s comments an acceptable exercise of free expression. 

The incident attracted national and some international attention, with even French President Emmanuel Macron weighing in and coming to Mila's defense. In a television interview, Mila apologized to Muslims who worship “in peace,” but she expressed no regret or remorse over the content of her remarks.