For those unacquainted with British reality TV, let’s just say that in a nutshell, it makes The Bachelor and The Bachelorette look like dang PBS, in comparison. From what I can gather, a currently airing ITV series called Love Island pairs singles up into couples at a tropical villa somewhere, and then viewers get to vote to eliminate the couples they like least.
Currently appearing on this season of Love Island is 20-year-old Zara Holland, who was crowned Miss Great Britain in October of 2015. This week a new contestant was introduced to the island, 24-year-old model and scaffolder Alex Bowen, and suffice to say, Holland was instantly dickmatized. On an episode airing Wednesday night, Holland and Bowen got hot and heavy for viewers all across the UK, because unlike the Fantasy Suite, cameras are absolutely allowed in the bedroom on Love Island.
Sadly, Hollard immediately regretted the tryst in the confessional the next morning, revealing that she was disappointed in herself, and that it was “so out of character for me, to do anything like this.” Things went from bad to worse however, when the Miss Great Britain organization caught wind of the hook up, and promptly decided to strip Holland of her crown.
A statement posted to the official Miss Great Britain twitter account read:
https://twitter.com/Official_MissGB/status/743534619438485504
If the whole thing seems a bit antiquated and slut shamey, you’re not alone. Love Island host Caroline Flack quickly jumped to the contestant’s defense, as well as others on Twitter:
Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl . What even is 'miss GB' ? Are we living in the dark ages ?
— caroline flack (@carolineflack1) June 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/portobellochic/status/743555254013272064
The 'decrowning' of Miss Great Britain is literally shocking. God forbid a woman representing the UK in 2016 actually has sexual freedom.
— Millie Elsdon (@Millie_Elsdon) June 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/emilyxmulligan/status/743550022214688772
https://twitter.com/_NicoleBrooks/status/743561831856340992
https://twitter.com/imbethmorgans/status/743540583457763328
Despite the backlash, Miss Great Britain is holding its ground, naming 2015 runner up Deone Robertson as Holland’s replacement, who will serve out the Miss Great Britain duties for the remainder of the year.
To be clear we have no problem at all with sex-it is perfectly natural.We simply can't condone what happened on national tv
— Miss Great Britain ® (@Official_MissGB) June 16, 2016
Translation: sex is natural, as long as you do it in the privacy of your own home with the shades pulled and the curtains closed.
(Via Daily Mail and The Mirror)