Vanessa Rousso Tweets Pleading For Emergency Help - Police Called!

(Photo: Pokerstars.com)

Poker pro Vanessa Rousso was at the centre of a ‘Twitter emergency’ which appears to have been the result of a hoax ‘swatting’, resulting in police and emergency services being sent to a 7/11 close to her Florida home.

Friends of the poker player and former Big Brother contestant were shocked and alarmed when a tweet appeared on her account calling for help…

“Help me I’m in danger, please help I’m at the seven eleven in Hobe southFlorida and I cant get through to police,” Vanessa tweeted.

The distress call was followed a few minutes later by another tweet…

@KelseaWhiting Police are literally ignoring me and my calls please kelsea you know me, this is serious

— 🦄Vanessa Rousso (@VanessaRousso) May 23, 2017

…which sent friends and followers of her Twitter account into a frenzy, unsure how to help Rousso or even whether the emergency was real or not.

While some people were calling the local Florida police, others were sending prayers and wishes via Twitter that the popular pro would be ok, but it was several hours before her friend Kelsea Whiting was able to reassure people that Vanessa was in fact OK.

This is what we know:
Vanessa was swatted.
She did not do anything wrong.
Police are with her.

That is it.
Please RT.

— Kelsea Whiting 🦄 (@KelseaWhiting) May 23, 2017

…adding for clarification that Rousso had done nothing wrong and explaining what ‘swatting’ is to those confused or ignorant of the modern-day phenomenon

For those of you confused... pic.twitter.com/RDN8XFrNlN

— Kelsea Whiting 🦄 (@KelseaWhiting) May 23, 2017

Although Rousso herself is yet to comment or tweet any further details of the incident, it appears that she is in fact safe and sound, which will come as a huge relief to all those who were desperately worried for her safety last night.

Although this seems to be the first case of a famous poker player being swatted, celebrities have often been targeted by suck pranks – Miley Cyrus twice a victim, in the first of which someone reported a possible home invasion and gunshots fired at the pop star's house back in August 2012, although no-one was home when the police arrived.

Around the same time, Ashton Kutcher fell prey to a similar spoof call, with a 12-year-old boy later being charged with two felony counts of making false bomb threats and two felony counts of computer intrusion for the swatting incident. Justin Bieber, Tom Cruise, Rihanna and Clint Eastwood are among other big names who have been ‘swatted’ under similar circumstances.

Rousso, who has over $3.5million in poker tournament earnings to her name, was a member of Team PokerStars for 10 years under her pseudonym LadyMaverick and was also married to the late Chad Brown, although they divorced in 2012. Two years ago she finished 3rd in the Big Brother TV reality show.