Big Brother Australia 2022 contestant Estelle Landy reportedly lied about having the COVID-19 vaccine to participate in the show again.
Since the vaccine debate continues to be as divisive as ever, it’s no wonder that many Big Brother fans were shocked to learn that 2012 star Estelle would be returning to film this year’s season, despite being a staunch anti-vaxxer.
As revealed in episode 203 of the So Dramatic! podcast, one of the 34-year-old’s followers said she’s been an “avid anti-vaxxer since 2020”.
“She posted anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown and ‘Dictator Dan [Andrews]‘ posts daily,” they said of the since-deleted content.
Many were also concerned that Channel 7 had given Estelle a platform to potentially spread her “problematic” views.
Popular social commentator Lauren Beckman (@lauren.lately on Instagram) highlighted this on her Story at the time, revealing that she had been the target of “abusive” DMs and comments from the reality star.
“She has been in my DMs and comments in the past (I had to block her) being abusive, obstinate and refusing to acknowledge facts about vaccines,” she wrote. “She constantly…twists information to fit her worldview.”
Lauren also called on Channel 7 to “do better”.
Estelle Landy Slammed Other Prevalent Pro-Vaccine Personalities
The Big Brother personality also went head-to-head with pro-vaccine author, Clementine Ford.
And, because she loves receipts as much as we do, she shared one of her private conversations with Estelle around August 2021.
At the time, Estelle replied to one of Clementine’s Stories, which was a photo of a hospital ward with a content warning about children having COVID.
Estelle wrote: “Nothing shows these kids are Covid? We haven’t had a single child death with Covid Clem not one. The only one was redacted. [sic].”
After dubbing the BBAU star “absolutely ridiculous,” Estelle said Clementine was “choosing to character assassinate”.
She later penned in the comments of an Instagram Live video that “f*cking Clem Ford is a b*tch BTW”.
What Else Has Estelle Landy Said About Vaccinations?
A number of So Dramatic! listeners also wrote in to share their unpleasant experiences with Estelle online.
One fan said she sent her “nasty messages” about her decision to get vaccinated.
“About mid-last year, I sent Estelle a DM saying it was disappointing to see her strong anti-vax opinions and she was awful back to me,” they said. “Basically having a full go at me about being pro-vaccine and then blocked me after I was ‘wasting her time’.”
When another follower told Estelle they’d prefer to trust medical professionals over misinformation, Estelle said not to trust their data.
She later claimed to another user that the Chief Health Officers giving health advice were not qualified.
“Here’s a news flash honey. Those experts… people who are CHOs and making this ‘health advice’ have no medical background. You don’t even know who the ‘experts’ are,” she penned. “You’ll just say ‘epidemiologists and doctors’ but you couldn’t name any of them or cite their work.
“Alarming at best.”
So, what were the laws surrounding COVID-19 and vaccinations at the time of filming? Could anti-vax advocate Estelle have entered the house having knowingly been unvaccinated?
The short answer? No.
What Were the COVID-19 and Vaccination Laws at the Time of Filming Big Brother 2022?
When Big Brother 2022 was filming over October and November last year, Sydney (where the show is based) was in lockdown. There were several restrictions imposed on residents, including stay-at-home orders.
Filming kicked off on October 11 and did not finish until December 20. Contestants were also required to quarantine for a week prior to entering the house.
However, it wasn’t until November 8 — partway through filming the show — that restrictions for “fully” or double vaccinated residents of NSW eased.
Unvaccinated residents were still bound by harsh restrictions until December 15, or when the state reached 95 per cent double-dose vaccinations — whichever occurred first.
At the time, the Public Health Order stated that it was an offence to not comply with the restrictions. Individuals and corporations who broke the Public Health Order would face penalties, while additional on-the-spot fines also applied.
Other Big Brother Australia 2022 Contestants Were Vocal About Being Against the COVID-19 Vaccine
Estelle was not the only housemate to kick up a fuss over the COVID-19 vaccine online.
According to a long-time follower of two-time star Layla Subritzky, the 34-year-old posted “anti-mandate rhetoric during lockdowns”.
“Lots of people unfollowed her during lockdown because of the rubbish she was posting,” they said.
Similarly, Sam Manovski shared her disdain for vaccine mandates on Instagram.
One insider dished: “On her page, she had allegedly been vocal about the vaccine during the COVID lockdown and had expressed that she stands against the vaccine.
“She wrote on her Story that she could never be with someone that got the vax… then flipped when Big Brother offered some fame.”
Fans will remember the Seven Network doubling down on vaccine mandates following Home and Away star Sam Frost‘s anti-vax rant on Instagram in late 2021.
So, how did three anti-vaxxers manage to appear on TV mid-pandemic, and on a Channel 7 show, no less?
A Big Brother Production Source CONFIRMS Some Contestants Weren’t Vaccinated While Filming
One production insider dished to So Dramatic! that the way housemates’ vaccine statuses were handled behind the scenes is a “f*cking mess”.
“There were housemates in there that were vaccinated and some who were not vaccinated,” they confessed. “Some of them said they were vaccinated, and some of them had fake vaccine certificates.”
They continued: “The production company — Endemol Shine Australia — have put all these people who aren’t vaccinated in a house together; it’s horrendous. It’s so sick and twisted.”
Endemol Shine is also behind Married at First Sight Australia, which had its own COVID controversies on set.
As for the housemates in question: they didn’t throw their beliefs out the window for a chance at fame. Well, not exactly, anyway.
According to a VERY reliable on-set source, Estelle and Sam had not had the COVID-19 vaccination at the time of filming, despite it being a mandate for workplaces (see also: TV sets).
The insider told So Dramatic! that despite quarantine orders, Estelle went to an anti-vax rally “the same week” she entered the Big Brother house.
“[She] told everyone she would never be vaccinated but we all know she would have had to be vaccinated to get into the house. However, she didn’t get vaccinated and gave Endemol Shine a fake vaccination certificate.” SAY WHAT?!
Estelle Landy Admitted to Production That Her Vaccine Certificate was Fake
So Dramatic! was told that producers asked Estelle to remove her anti-vax sentiments from her public Instagram page.
“They allegedly knew her stance on vaccines but made her wipe it all from the public and told her she had to be vaccinated,” the source said. “But some stuff was screen recorded, and they haven’t been able to completely get rid of it, which has been a nightmare for them.”
The horse trainer reportedly showed production some sort of vaccination documents as all contestants were required to show proof of their double vax status.
However, it wasn’t until two days into filming that producers “realised it was a fake certificate”.
“They had to pull her out of the house and interrogate her and say, ‘Are you vaccinated? Because we can go legal on you.’ And she was like, ‘No, I’m not; these are fake’,” the insider recalled.
Adding that Estelle is “so problematic”, the source highlighted the lack of duty of care in this situation.
“They have a duty of care to the other contestants and the filming crew, they were endangering lives by doing this. Not to mention breaking the law.”
Were Sam Manovski and Layla Subritzky Vaccinated When They Entered the Big Brother House?
Despite her anti-mandate rhetoric, Layla reportedly did get the COVID-19 vaccine before entering the competition.
However, the same can’t be said for Sam.
“Sam was not vaccinated during filming,” an on-set source said. “She didn’t lie. Sam just didn’t get it. [Production] stuffed up by not following up on it.”
They added that they “found out last minute” that the relationship expert wasn’t vaxxed. However, they didn’t want to boot her from the show due to the storyline they’d teed up between her and Anthony “Drew” Drew.
“They were like ‘Jesus Christ, we’d need her in there because we’ve got this amazing storyline with her and Drew’… Because it was all pre-planned that she was going to hook up with Drew.”
So Dramatic! has approached Estelle, Sam, Channel 7, NSW Health and NSW Police for comment.
Want even more goss? Listen to episode 203 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
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