If anyone knows how toxic social media can be it’s Ariana Madix. And the Vanderpump Rules star shared a bit about her own experience with the islanders during her stint hosting the Love Island USA reunion.
The reality TV star opened up about the difficulties of online bullying and negativity. She got a lot of both in the past couple of years. And she made sure to remind everyone about the importance of being compassionate.
Real people, real lives
According to OK Magazine, Ariana thought it was relevant to share her own experiences with social media.
“I want to address the social media of it all,” Ariana admitted after the islanders expressed upset feelings about the negativity they received online. “I know you guys have gotten both a lot of love and a lot of negativity as well.”
“I’ve been through it,” the Bravo star continued. “I’ve gotten it plenty. And when you are in a position like this, sometimes people can see you as a character on a TV show and they forget that you are a real person, with a real life and real friends and family.”
She reminded the Love Island contestants that it’s part of the reality TV experience and at the end of the day, it’s always important to have compassion. “I think it’s really important to be kind to our islanders,” she said.
If anyone would know how it feels, it’s Ariana. After all, she’s experienced it and more during the blow-up that was Scandoval and her discovering that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. Fans fell on both sides of the scandal and all three got their fair share of social media attention and eventually hate from online trolls.
Choose kindness
The show also sent a message to remind viewers to be kind and positive ahead of the reunion. Producers probably saw the writing on the wall and decided to take precautions.
Leah Kateb spoke up during the reunion as well and asked fans to end the negativity. A lot of her supporters have been Andrea Carmona’s social media pages with criticism because of the drama on the show.
Andrea admitted that it hasn’t been easy. “I have highs and lows where I’m feeling really good and days I’m feeling really down. But I’m genuinely happy that we all came to an agreement. We’re all human. We have feelings and emotions. I hope the audience sees that,” she concluded.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN TOO HARSH ON THE ISLANDERS? WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON ONLINE BULLYING?
