Geordie Shore alum Dee Nguyen has been called out for making an ableist joke on TikTok.
In a since-deleted video, the 29-year-old made an offensive implication after a potential date, who is in a wheelchair, responded to one of her prompts on the dating app, Hinge.
“Casually swiping through Hinge and I get this response to one of my prompts,” Dee began the video, showing viewers a message from a potential date reading: “Let’s go dance together.”
She then unveiled a photo of the responder from his profile on the app, which showed that he is in a wheelchair.
Dee then covered her mouth, intimating that she was suppressing a laugh.
The subject of Dee’s video has been revealed to be Kyle Montgomery, an artist and podcaster who happens to be a quadriplegic.
Kyle has shared the video and called for those with a disability to respond to Dee’s clip with videos of them dancing and living their best lives.
“This isn’t about retaliation. This is about harmful casual ableism,” Kyle wrote on Instagram.
The artist has shared several anecdotes of ableist encounters on his social media in the past, and his followers have been quick to rally around him. They’ve also called for Dee to issue a sincere apology.
Dee Issued an Apology on TikTok After It Went Viral
Days after his post went viral, Dee returned to TikTok to make a public apology.
“A few weeks ago I made that stupid TikTok video… when I came across Kyle’s profile, he responded to one of my prompts saying that he wanted to go dance with me,” she said.
“I scroll down, I saw that he was in a wheelchair – there’s nothing wrong with that, by the way – I scroll down and I listen to one of his voice prompts that said, ‘If you’re not a fan of f**ked-up, dark humour, then we probably won’t get along.'”
She continued: “Obviously, I thought that it was punny [a funny pun] and I didn’t mean to post that video in a way that was mocking him.
“So when he reached out saying he was thoroughly upset, I personally DM’d him and said I was sorry.”
Dee then shared a screenshot of a message she had sent Montgomery in which she clarified she wasn’t being “malicious” before “deeply apologising” for offending him.
“I didn’t realise the impact of my video, and the extent of hurt that Kyle felt and I was genuinely remorseful for it,” she added.
“I don’t like hurting people and it wasn’t my intention.”
Dee then explained that Kyle had responded by saying he was “extremely frustrated” by her lack of self-awareness and had only heard about the video after somebody sent it to him.
Dee continued: “Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart I am sorry, Kyle. I’m sorry to the whole disabled community for any hurt or upset that you’ve felt by my video.
“I’m still learning as a human – obviously I have a lot of learning to do.
“I hope that you can forgive me, and I hope that we can meet up for coffee or have a Zoom chat so I can be more understanding and learn more about you and your struggles and what the community goes through.”
@deenguyenx #stitch with @dream_6ig ♬ original sound – Dee Nguyen
Dee Was Banned From MTV After Making Offensive Comments In the Past
Dee, who appeared on the famed British reality show when the gang came to Australia 2018, was reportedly cut off by Channel Seven producers after making a tweet about the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
“[I don’t know] why some of you think I’m anti-BLM. I’ve been saying that since the day I lost my virginity,” the reality star posted.
Allegedly, she then fired back at critics: “People die every f*cking day. U don’t know me or what I do. I suggest u wake the f*ck up and get off social media.”
A spokesperson for MTV said that they had “severed ties” with Dee, who had recently appeared on a season of the channel’s The Challenge.
“As a result of Dee Nguyen’s offensive comments on the Black Lives Matter movement, we have severed ties with her.
“Out of respect for our Challengers, we’ll air our season as planned. We strongly condemn systemic racism and stand with those raising their voices against injustice.”
Since being booted from MTV, Dee has returned to Australia and made a career for herself on OnlyFans.
Want even more goss? Listen to episode 180 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
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