Images posted to Instagram of the couple's jaunt to Saudi Arabia. Photo / georgiealove
Images posted to Instagram of the couple's jaunt to Saudi Arabia. Photo / georgiealove
Former Bachelorette Georgia Love and her partner Lee Elliot copped a major backlash this week over a trip promoting Saudi Arabia — a country with a dismal human nights record, reports news.com.au.
The Australian reality TV star and her husband Lee, who found love on the second season of Network 10's The Bachelorette in 2016, sparked the controversy by sharing snaps promoting tourism in the hard-line Islamic nation.
And now there are fresh questions about who exactly covered the costs of their trip.
Despite claiming the trip was "not a paid partnership", Love had been plugging Visit Saudi tourism in her posts — which she has since deleted.
According to the Herald Sun, the couple weren't paid directly for the trip, but Saudi Arabian tourism approached Love and was "footing the bill for all airfares, accommodation and expenses".
Love, 33, and Elliot, 40, were part of a group of influencers from around the globe flown to promote the Middle Eastern country.
While the couple weren't paid directly for the trip, Saudi Arabian tourism reportedly 'footed the bill for all airfares, accommodation and expenses'. Photo: georgiealove
Among them was Lithuanian travel blogger Sky Naite, whose Instagram posts included Love in the background. One post referred to "behind the scenes (footage) with Georgia Love", and was tagged #VisitSaudi.
As of Friday, Love and Elliot removed all their Saudi Arabia-related content from their Instagram pages following the backlash on Thursday.
One photo included the pair arriving at King Khalid International Airport, with Love captioning the post: "Well I can categorically say not one person guessed … we're in Saudi Arabia!!
"After only opening to tourists in 2019, we can't state how excited we are to be among the first Aussies to tour Saudi.
"To us, it is important to see, experience and learn about all cultures around us and to see how much and how fast our world is changing. We can't wait to bring you along on this incredible experience with us."
Georgia Love and Lee Elliott in since deleted photographs from Saudi Arabia. Photo / georgiealove
The former Channel Seven reporter also told her 245,000 followers that she and Elliot "do not in any way endorse behaviours of the past or any human rights violations that have occurred in this country".
"We are also not being paid to be here. We are here for ourselves to experience and see a different country and culture as that for us is what travel is all about.
"We want to see and experience as much of the world as we can — this includes all cultures and religions, whether we follow them, agree with them or not."
Saudi Arabia's government has copped heavy criticism for its human rights abuses, including its treatment of women and its LGBT community, and for repressing political opposition.
Entertainment journalist Peter Ford tweeted a link to a news article revealing Saudi Arabia recently "executed 81 convicts in a single day".
Ford claimed, "This is the country Georgia Love accepted a free trip to visit. Of the 81 you can be sure there is a disproportionate number of women, gays & possibly journalists. Did you really need a freebie trip that badly Georgia?"
Elliot Lee defended the trip after the couple were criticised for promoting the country. Photo / leeroyelliott
"Sorry Georgia but supporting/promoting Saudi Arabia is incredibly wrong,'' one follower wrote.
"They executed 82 people a few days ago. Not to mention the lack of women's rights and the LGBTI+ community. Being a journalist, it might have been a good idea to research a country before promoting it. Their human rights are appalling. Disappointing. Seems a free holiday is more important than morals."
Another follower wrote: "Why not use your influence/platform to promote somewhere that doesn't have an atrocious record of human rights violations."
In response to one person's suggestion that it was a paid partnership, Love responded that it was not.
Some commented that the couple should be left to enjoy their holiday without negativity.
"I truly hear and understand what you're saying and where you're coming from," he said.
"We thought long and hard about coming and we decided to come as the world is changing for the better and Saudi along with it.
"We strongly believe by Saudi opening up to the rest of the world and by tourists being here it has to be more accountable and hope this is a change for the better. Trust me we looked into it before coming and believe many things have changed for the better in more recent times and hope they continue to do so."
Love's gaffe comes just weeks after she revealed she's leaving her TV career behind at Channel Seven for a new job away from the cameras in PR.
She announced the news in a statement to The Daily Telegraph, telling the publication that she was excited to begin her next chapter in the media industry.
It comes approximately five months after Seven took the reality TV star off the air and moved her to a behind-the-scenes role after she received backlash for a controversial Instagram post.
