Married at First Sight 2022 groom Simon Blackburn has already been outed as a homophobic and misogynistic TikTok star after videos he made resurfaced.
And despite Channel Nine taking swift action to remove him from the show, feminist icon Clementine Ford isn’t buying it.
In a series of videos that were obtained by So Dramatic! on Tuesday, Simon can be seen making a number of degrading comments towards women and the LGBTIQA+ community.
On Wednesday, Channel Nine issued a statement to So Dramatic! confirming that they had decided to remove Simon from the show after being made aware of the disturbing videos.
“When unacceptable social media content was discovered in relation to Simon Blackburn we immediately took steps to remove him from the program. We won’t be making further comment,” a Channel Nine spokesperson told So Dramatic!.
After the videos resurfaced, Clementine made an Instagram post calling out Simon’s behaviour and labelled him as “one of Australia’s most disgusting misogynists.”
“He used to have a fairly popular (🤮) platform on TikTok, but his audience has decreased significantly – maybe because he speaks so horribly about his children that even other misogynist men have decided he’s too much to take,” the best-selling author wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
“If you’re not, all you need to know is that he is homophobic, transphobic, ableist, racist, and deeply hateful towards women. The way he speaks about mothers, in particular, is absolutely grotesque, calling them “some other c*nt’s fuckin’ mess.
“Guess who @mafs decided to cast for their upcoming season?!”
Clementine then said she believed that Channel Nine and Married at First Sight would have been well aware of Simon’s history before casting him on the show.
“@channel9 have since released a statement saying he was removed from the program when they “discovered” his social media posts, but come on besties – you want us to believe you didn’t know EXACTLY who this guy is? That you didn’t do the most basic of internet searches on his fkn name?
“Of course, #MAFS knew who he was, because the plan was clearly to remove him from the show a week or so in and then release some cockamamie statement about how they had taken swift action. Why would they do this? Simple. So they could:
“a) generate interest and discussion in the new season and
“b) try to mitigate all the criticisms they’ve received for the last two years about platforming abusive men. “Look! We had one and we benched him! We’re good now!”
The Big Sister Hotline podcast host then condemned the network for casting Simon on the show in the first place and potentially putting women in danger, calling their actions “appalling.”
“I know I’m playing into it by talking about this at all, but @channel9 shouldn’t be able to get away with this sh*t,” she said. “This literal smear of dogshit should never have been approached in the first place. MAFS wants us to believe he applied and went anonymously through the process? Guys. Please.
“Either Channel 9 knowingly paired Blackburn – a man who calls women “fat cunts” and “bitches” and talks about their “beaten out vaginas” – with a woman for at least two weeks, placing her in a really dangerous situation, or they are admitting their own casting processes are so lacking in the very BASICS of background checks that they didn’t even bother to do a basic Google.”
Well said, Clementine!
Who is Simon Blackburn from Married at First Sight Australia 2022?
After appearing in a promo for Married at First Sight 2022 on Monday, Simon was outed as a homophobic and misogynistic TikTok star.
In a series of videos since obtained by So Dramatic!, the father-of-two repeatedly degrades women and calls homosexuality “filth”.
On Wednesday, Channel Nine confirmed to So Dramatic! that they had decided to remove him from the show after being made aware of the disturbing videos.
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