I haven’t watched The Bachelor much this year. I only watch it if someone else is or when a repeat is shown on a TV in a public place. So, I can’t tell you much about who’s who, who’s gone so far, who I think should win, etc, etc.
I was outraged after reading this article. An anonymous writer on Mamamia, a self – confessed former school bully, said that The Bachelor Australia, specifically Cat, Romy and Alisha and their treatment of Tenille, reminded her of her bad behaviour in high school.
What the hell is The Bachelor Australia doing promoting bullying? What are the producers and directors thinking?
Media hypocrisy: reporting on and glorifying bullying
It’s no secret what harm bullying can do; to children, teenagers and adults. Recently, there has been a number of cases exposed in the media of young people taking their own lives after being viciously bullied by school bullies and online. And a show that has peaked with an average of 1.25 million viewers nationwide has the nerve to glorify it and use it for ratings?
The girls accused of bullying have proclaimed that they were taken out of context and has blamed editors. All three have also faced a backlash on social media, some of it which has been vile and abusive (which I don’t condone, either).
Whether the cast, producers, directors or editors are to blame, it doesn’t matter. For some reason, The Bachelor Australia has promoted bullying. That’s not OK. It’s not OK to glorify people (of any gender), being cut down, ostracised or be subjected to other bullying behaviour.
Where does the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) on this? They are the national media body that oversees compliance in the media and telecommunications industries. Not a blip as far as I’m aware.
What does this say about commercial TV as a whole? Due to international competitors such as streaming services Netflix and Stan and cable networks such as Foxtel, the commercial media industry is struggling to maintain decent audience size.. Channel Ten (now part of Win network and recently bought by US’s CBS), faced the reality of going into administration. I can’t believe in glorifying bullying to get viewers and advertisers. Quite frankly, I don’t think it should be allowed.
I guess the most effective revenge is for people not to watch The Bachelor Australia and let their ratings crash. It’s still unsettling how the Australian media industry has allowed it to happen in the first place.
UPDATE
The backlash against Alisha, Cat and Romy has continued. According to Perth Now, Alisha was refused a rose and therefore, exited the show. Fifi Box, Byron Cooke and Brendan Fevola from Melbourne’s Fox FM has cancelled a scheduled interview with Cat with very short notice. Box defended the cancellation saying that she ‘couldn’t in good conscience welcome her [Cat] to the show’.
Let’s hope The Bachelor Australia and other reality shows will get the message that bullying doesn’t pay.
If you are struggling, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. As always, feel free to post contact details of crisis, suicide prevention or other mental health services in your country/ area, feel free to post that 8nformation in the comments.