The Block 2022‘s Sharon Johal has rubbished talk that she and Ankur Dogra went $80,000 over budget with a scathing Facebook post.
Recent episodes of the show’s 18th season have seen House Three SLAMMED for overspending, with host Scott Cam cutting off their funds completely.
Their fellow contestants suggested that they’d amassed a debt of over $80k, and online fan forums came to the same conclusion.
Now, Sharon has set the record straight online, stating that she and Ankur “absolutely acknowledge” that they blew the budget.
“Absolutely acknowledge and own we went over budget by 53k (not 80 or 100k as has been thrown around),” she wrote on her personal Facebook page. “The job of an accountant is to identify pressure points, which we did (the plasterer bills) right from the very start.
“We spoke to our great contestants all the time about what they were getting charged for various trades, and on [sic] instances it was clear we were being overcharged accumulatively by 10s of thousands.”
The lawyer said they’d asked Scott’s advice and tried to “negotiate” tradie rates while also searching for a new build team on occasion.
However, the “shortage trade bit [them] in the bum”.
The Block‘s Sharon Johal Reiterates That They Did Not “Spend Without Regard”
While fans have criticised Sharon and Ankur’s “frivolous” spending, the Blockheads said they “did not spend without regard”.
“All of our budget spend went on trades except one to two items over the whole three-month build. For all styling, we used block bucks and our wonderful sponsors,” Sharon penned.
She then reiterated that they chose the biggest house on the show while also trying to stick to the same budget as the other teams — who were “nearly all” over budget too.
They also reportedly attempted to sell the $80,000 Ford Everest and wine they won in challenges.
However, they “were not allowed advantageously/told not to”.
Sharon then hit out at vocal viewers for slamming Ankur for going over the limit when his profession is accounting.
“Accounting has nothing to do with forcing anyone (nor should you) to work for free or at minimal rates under an unrealistic budget,” she wrote. “My Husband is a f*cking fantastic accountant, and I won’t tolerate anyone else saying otherwise.
“Just ask his fabulous boss, who held his job for him for three months so he could go on the show.”
Concluding the post, Sharon said she stands by the idea that her and Ankur’s property is the “biggest and best build”.
“Not lazy. Worked hard. Did demolish, did clean, did shop, did paint, did style, did learn. You can’t finish a house of this magnitude with us doing all of this. End of story.”
Sharon Johal Hits Back at Naysayers In the Comment Section
The lengthy statement didn’t appease followers, who took to the comment section to have it out with the Blockhead.
One fan of the show countered Sharon’s argument, stating that the whole point of The Block “is to do the build within the budget”.
They then slammed the duo for seemingly not doing a thing for themselves, instead “going shopping together and having hair cuts [sic] or sleeping in the car”.
However, Sharon wasn’t having it, calling out the user for conjuring up their “own version of events”.
She stated that the duo “cleaned” and were qualified to use the excavator, contrary to belief.
She continued: “Anks came shopping with me sometimes because I was sleeping on the wheel… and the hair cut [sic] was asked by production.”
Sharon concluded the hit back by claiming she’s “sick of reading BS”.
“It seems you have a firm view you want to believe that goes against us so go for it,” she wrote. “Please don’t share on my own page. Thanks”
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