The Bachelorette’s golden couple, Georgia Love and Lee Elliott have faced backlash after arriving in the autocratic regime of Saudi Arabia.

The reality stars had been posting now-deleted photos from their respective Instagram accounts, causing fans of the pair to question their holiday.

“After only opening to tourists in 2019, we can’t state how excited we are to be among the first Aussies to tour Saudi,” Georgia wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post.

georgia love lee elliott
Georgia Love and Lee Elliott have faced backlash after promoting a trip to Saudi Arabia. Source: Instagram.

“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.”

She then concluded the caption with the hashtag, “Visit Saudi”.

Now, while the pair have denied that they are being paid to visit the once-hermit nation, a new report has confirmed that the hotly contested trip is, in fact, all-expenses-paid.

Georgia and Lee Are Part of an Influencer Trip

The Bachelorette couple wasn’t paid directly for attending the trip, on which they were joined by other influencers around the globe. However, according to the Herald Sun, Saudi Arabian tourism approached Georgia and was “footing the bill for all airfares, accommodation and expenses”.

While they had tagged #VisitSaudi, they failed to tag #ad — which is also against Instagram’s policy on sponcon.

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Journalist Peter Ford Called Out Georgia Love and Lee Elliott

Fans were quick to criticise the couple, calling their vacation “immoral”, while journalist Peter Ford Tweeted that Saudi Arabia “executed 81 convicts in a single day”.

“This is the country Georgia Love accepted a free trip to visit. Of the 81 you can be sure there is a disproportionate number of women, gays & possibly journalists. Did you really need a freebie trip that badly Georgia?”

Peter then added a slew of other posts including: “Now the world is opening up again you might choose the Eiffel Tower, Edinburgh Castle or The Acropolis but Georgia Love is pushing Saudi Arabia. Sorry Georgia but ‘Chop Chop Square’ -where woman and gays are executed- just doesn’t do it for me in the same way [sic],” he wrote.

Lee Elliott’s Response to the Backlash

On Thursday, March 17, Lee took to his Insta stories to say that they “truly hear and understand” what their fans were saying.

“We thought long and hard about coming and we decided to come as the world is changing for the better and Saudi along with it.

“We strongly believe by Saudi opening up to the rest of the world and by tourists being here it has to be more accountable and hope this is a change for the better. Trust me we looked into it before coming and believe many things have changed for the better in more recent times and hope they continue to do so.”

Lee responded to backlash and asserted that they were “not being paid” to visit Saudi Arabia. Source: Instagram @leeroyelliott.

To this, Peter responded once again on Twitter.

“Lee did they take you watch the executions? 81 just last Friday. I know you say it’s ‘changing for the better’ but they must have been terribly bad way back when.”

The entertainment journalist then targeted Georgia, pointing out that she had removed everything from Instagram about the trip.

Georgia Love Came Under Fire In 2021 for a “Racist” Instagram Post

Back in September 2021, Georgia shared a video of a cat sitting behind the glass doors of an Asian restaurant, with text asking if the cat was a shop attendant or lunch and the backlash was fast and furious!

Last Monday, Georgia shared a video of a cat sitting behind the glass doors of an Asian restaurant. Source: Instagram.

After the post was shared by numerous people and accounts online, including Aussie Influencer Opinions, an account that popped up in the absence of Celeb Spell Check, Georgia swiftly deleted the post and issued an apology, stating she “meant for this to be a joke about an animal being in a restaurant at lunch service” but realised it was “offensive.” 

After being called out for the way her most recent post perpetuates casual anti-Asian hate, Georgia thanked those who called her out on her tone-deaf post, and said: “Thank you to those who called me out. This is what we need to make sure we are all accountable and do better.”

As a result of the backlash, Georgia lost her on-air position at Channel 7 and was dropped by several brands that she endorsed.

Want even more goss? Listen to episode 154 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!

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