Married at First Sight Australia 2022 besties Domenica Calarco and Ella Ding have divided fans with a controversial video while travelling.
Taking to TikTok in February, Domenica revealed that she and Ella were having lunch while holidaying in the Maldives, a waterfront holiday destination in South Asia.
“We’re in heaven,” she explained, sharing footage of them dining by the ocean. “The one thing I’ve really learned on this trip — it’s really opened my eyes — is that people are really rude.”
“We’re sitting here, trying to have our lunch… And these people are sitting next to us…”
Ella chimed in: “With the phone so loud. I think they’re playing a game. Look, [they’re] non-English speaking people, but there’s just no…”
“Respect,” Domenica finished. “I was just like, what do you do in this situation? Because we’re at this beautiful resort having lunch and… I just don’t know.”
Taking to the comment section of the TikTok, one fan questioned why Ella “mention[ed] that they’re non-English speaking” people, while another said the tone behind her phrasing was a “micro-aggression”.
Elsewhere, a follower suggested their commentary about guests being “rude” was hypocritical when Domenica was “filming content in a restaurant”.
Fans call out Married at First Sight‘s Domenica Calarco and Ella Ding’s ‘complete lack of insight’
Sharing the video in the So Dramatic! Communi-TEA Facebook group, one user penned: “They can make videos and film themselves and talk loudly, but no one else can?
“The entitlement on these two is next level. The restaurant looks empty, why not just move?”
One follower expressed they “didn’t watch the thing past ‘We’re in the Maldives'”.
“Is she actually complaining about people not speaking English in another country? In a place that draws people from all over the world?”
@domenica.calarco People playing videos and games on their phones on speaker while were trying to sit and enjoy our lunch at a 5 star resort. How would you guys handle this ?! #holiday #travel #maldives ♬ original sound – domenica.calarco
Another user called out Domenica and Ella’s “complete lack of insight to be loudly filming a TikTok while criticising ‘non-English speaking’ people [for] playing a game on their phone”.
“[It’s] next level ignorance.”
“I don’t understand why they think EVERYONE should speak English?” another user wondered. “If they were speaking English and they were loud, would you come and post here and cry about it? NO, you wouldn’t! So rude and racist wtf.”
“Ooft. Imagine filming this, editing it, and then still hitting post. Not a vibe, girls,” MAFS 2023 bride Alyssa Barmonde added.
Some fans jumped to the duo’s defence, reflecting the situation differently.
“I took it to mean, ‘What’s the best way to communicate with someone of a non-English speaking background about playing a loud game on their phone in a location where it’s not appropriate’,” one person wrote.
“It doesn’t sound that deep,” another said. “Non-English speaking could mean they thought they wouldn’t understand. I hate people on their loud phones while in a restaurant, I get it.”
Social media users point out hypocritical comments from Married at First Sight‘s Domenica Calarco
Many MAFS fans were taken aback by Domenica and Ella criticising people for being loud when the former expressed frustration during the experiment for people saying similar things about her.
“Of all the people who could be criticising someone for being loud. Did she not smash a glass in aggression because of being criticised for the same thing?” one social media user wrote, referring to the 2022 Couples’ Retreat.
Another expressed: “But Dom was criticised for being loud, it was sexist, racist, classist bullying… but now she’s doing it?
“The lack of awareness is stunning, and also what a waste — they’re in this beautiful place, and there are so many other great things they could have posted about.”
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