Big Brother contestant Ellis Hillon has been removed from the show following an investigated into racist tweets in connection to the 9/11 tragedy.
The reality programme broke the news on social media, stating: “As a result of our investigation into offensive and unacceptable posts on social media, Ellis Hillon has been removed from the Big Brother house.”
As a result of our investigation into offensive and unacceptable posts on social media, Ellis Hillon has been removed from the Big Brother House. pic.twitter.com/wOwS6vuYmO
— Big Brother UK (@bbuk) 15 September 2018
McDonald’s worker Ellis, from Glasgow, entered the house to cheers from the crowd during last night’s opening show but, just hours later, The Mirror Online uncovered racist tweets apparently sent by her dating back to September 2014.
One specific tweet, reportedly written by the 19-year-old, read: “Oh bleep, aye it’s 9/11! RIP to everyone who died and [bleep] they smelly [bleep] terrorist [bleep]!”
Read more: Has Channel 5 already lined up Big Brother replacement?
Another post, written in January 2015, four months after her 9/11 slur, used the N-word, although it isn’t clear what this is referring to.
Bfore reaching a decision, Channel 5 told Metro.co.uk this morning: “We are currently investigating the authenticity of a number of historic social media posts.”
Upon entering the house, Ellis was adamant that the people she dislikes the most are “bullies”.
Describing her nightmare housemate, Ellis said: “Someone who is stuck up and someone who is a nasty person. That does not sit well with me, a bully, I don’t like that.”
Ahead of the tweets coming to light, bubbly Ellis had been an immediate favourite with the crowds.
Wearing a short tartan dress to enter the house, and describing herself as “a pain in the [bleep]”, the fast food waitress quickly gained herself the nickname of “the pocket rocket”.
Yet her time in the house, and her bid to win the £100,000 prize money, could be cut short if Channel 5 verify the tweets and make a decision to axe her.
Celebrity Big Brother contestant Rodrigo Alves was given a formal warning after using the n-word twice during his short stint in the house.
In 2015, Playboy bunny Tila Tequila was also booted off the show, after pictures of her posing as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp emerged, alongside social media posts in which she described Hitler as “not the bad person he was made out to be”.
Don’t miss: Dan Osborne ‘reveals reason’ Rodrigo Alves left the BB house
But Ellis’ sister, who is posting on her Twitter account while she’s in the Big Brother house, described the allegations as “absolute rubbish”.
She tweeted: “There are no bad tweets. People just talk absolute rubbish and make fake things up.”
She then urged followers to be positive, adding: “There will be no negativity here and my sister will shine. Goodnight!”
The account has since been deleted.
Do you think contestants should be judged by tweets posted in their past? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!