The Bachelor: Eliminated villains claim producers ‘ordered them’ to say and do certain things
THEY’VE been labelled Aussie TV’s mean girls but after being booted from The Bachelor, a visibly shocked Cat Henesey-Smith, Romy Poulier and Alisha Aitken protest that they were just following orders.
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THEY’VE been labelled Aussie TV’s mean girls but after being booted from The Bachelor last night, a visibly shocked Cat Henesey-Smith, Romy Poulier and Alisha Aitken protest that they were just following orders.
“It is very manipulative,” Henesey-Smith said.
“You are told to do things, and if you don’t, you might go home.”
Poulier added: “Or your friend will go home if you don’t have this conversation on camera.”
Henesey-Smith, Poulier and Aitken-Radburn spoke to the The Daily Telegraph 15 minutes after watching Thursday night’s explosive episode and say the truth of reality TV was far closer to hit American behind-the-scenes TV drama, UNreal, than everyday life.
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They were rattled and emotional — Henesey-Smith broke down and Poulier and Aitken-Raidburn ordered beers to calm their nerves well before lunch. All three have received social media abuse and threats.
“We’ve been getting death threats, telling us to slit our wrists, calling us whores, sluts and moles,” Aitken-Radburn said.
“The premise of this show is pitching women against each other. The same reality TV tropes come up every season — you’ve got your villains, your crazy stalker, your wifeys … people love to hate.”
The trio claim they were directed to play villain roles.
Last night Bachelor Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins blindsided Henesey-Smith by asking her to leave while Poulier was offered a rose in the subsequent elimination ceremony but chose to walk and Aitken-Radburn wasn’t given a flower.
“It is clear that we were being painted as the villains from the beginning,” Henesey-Smith said. “Every time we were mic’d for a scene, it was us — Romy, Cat, Alisha — half the girls wouldn’t even get a mic on them because they were so boring.”
But the trio say it was better to confront head on rather than backstab.
“They have not shown our whole personalities,” Henesey-Smith said.
“There is 169 hours of filming for one episode. I understand some of the things I said may have offended people and I apologise, but half the time I am taking the piss.
“It was an amplified situation, emotions are heightened: you’re in a house with 25 women, you are going to butt heads. There are things you don’t see.”
However, they do take responsibility for their words.
“Even though there’s some editing, we said it and you have to own it,” Aitken-Radburn said.
“I get that people are angry but telling you to jump off a cliff or to kill yourself, no one deserves that. At the end of the day, it is reality TV. People love drama and while shows like Married At First Sight still rate, networks are going to continue to produce it and viewers will watch,” she said.