Reality TV stardom has its perks. Among them, it seems, is PR work for autocratic regimes.
Georgia Love and Lee Elliott, who found romance on the second season of Network 10’s The Bachelorette in 2016, have sparked controversy after the pair posted Instagram photos of themselves promoting tourism in Saudi Arabia.
Lee Elliott and Georgia Love in Saudi Arabia on March 17. Credit:Instagram @leeroyelliott
Saudi Arabia’s government has been heavily criticised by the international community for its human rights abuses, including its treatment of women and its LGBTQIA+ community, and for repressing political opposition.
Just last week Saudi Arabia was condemned by human rights groups following the mass execution of 81 people in one day, including Amnesty International which criticised the kingdom’s “deeply flawed justice system, which metes out death sentences following trials that are grossly and blatantly unfair”.
Love and Elliott, however, were enthused to be guests in the country.
“After only opening to tourists in 2019, we can’t state how excited we are to be among the first Aussies to tour Saudi,” Love’s post to her 235,000 followers read.
“To us, it is important to see, experience and learn about all cultures around us and to see how much and how fast our world is changing. We can’t wait to bring you along on this incredible experience with us,” the post continued, with a link to @VisitSaudi, run by the government’s Saudi Tourism Authority.
On Elliott’s Instagram story, a series of pictures and videos showed the pair trying Arabic coffee and snacks in the town of Diriyah, posing in front of buildings and enjoying a meal in the Riyadh Front shopping area.
Online, Love’s post drew rebukes from commenters who suggested the pair were playing shill to Saudi Arabia’s authoritarian government.
“As a woman and a journalist, did you not consider the treatment of both groups in Saudi?” one commenter responded. “Why not use your influence/platform to promote somewhere that doesn’t have an atrocious record of human rights violations.”
“We’re really promoting Saudi now? With their appalling human rights record??” another commenter noted.
Elaine Pearson, the Australian director of Human Rights Watch, called the posts “troubling”.
“The Saudi government has a deliberate and sophisticated propaganda strategy that involves using celebrities to launder its reputation and deflect attention away from its awful human rights record. It’s all part of an effort to convince international investors to invest in the country despite pervasive human rights violations,” said Pearson.
“When celebrities and social media influencers take Saudi government money while staying silent on the government’s atrocious rights record, they are boosting the kingdom’s strategy of whitewashing Saudi government abuses.”
The scandal is not Love’s first brush with controversy. Last September she was pulled from an on-air reporting gig with Channel Seven after she posted a video on Instagram that some believed voiced racist stereotypes against Asians.
After Seven took “disciplinary action” against Love, she apologised to her colleagues in a staff email, saying, “I’m deeply sorry for the hurt that I’ve caused and, in particular, for offence to the Asian community” and vowed to “earn your trust back”.
Love and Elliott have been approached for comment.
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