Married at First Sight producers have been slammed by fans of the show after their plea to stop the trolling of contestants was called out for hypocrisy.
WATCH: MAFS’ Aleks Markovic defies producers with a late-night Instagram rant
The backlash began on Wednesday after the MAFS official Instagram account shared “A message of love” asking fans to “celebrate, encourage and support” the couples, while announcing that trolling “will not be tolerated”.
“We all love watching MAFS and following the journey of the participants in Australia’s biggest social experiment,” the post said.
“So let’s celebrate our couples, support and encourage them.
“Comments on the official MAFS Social accounts are moderated and any that are offensive or personally attack participants or fellow MAFS viewers will not be tolerated.
“Anyone who continually breaches the community guidelines will be blocked.
“Remember, love will rise.”
While the social media moderators may have had good intensions, fans were quick to call out the Network on its apparent hypocrisy and took to the comments to vent.
“Imagine the MAFS producers thinking they have the moral high ground,” one viewer commented.
Another wrote: “How about not manipulating scenes to make people look bad then? Apparently love rising isn’t as important as ratings.”
WATCH BELOW: MAFS’ Josh exposes Network’s editing after family gets death threats
Another fan called out the show for “bullying and pushing” contestants to talk about their sex lives.
“I think that MAFS presenters and producers need to start displaying some integrity in the show. I was appalled at the behaviour around them asking Ivan and Alek about intimacy,” a fan wrote.
They continued: “They have every right not to discuss it if they don’t want to. Whether you’re in an experiment or not. They just kept pushing and pushing…. that’s bullying in my eyes. Not sure why she’s always concerned with “is there any intimacy”??? Please stop!”
This season has been particularly controversial with contestants calling out the Network for poor editing and one participant, Poppy Jennings, exploring her legal options after claiming Channel 9 and production company Endemol Shine ignored her feelings about being uncomfortable while filming the show.
WATCH BELOW: Poppy reveals all about ‘Married at first sight’ in explosive rant
The MAFS Official Social media post comes after Nine’s recent statement to WHO magazine made clear the assistance and support it gives participants.
The statement read: “Nine takes its obligations in respect to the health and wellbeing of the participants of this program extremely seriously.
“All participants have access to the show psychologist during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended.
“Nine has arranged an additional service for participants should they like or need further individual and confidential psychological support. This service gives participants access to psychologists who have been specifically engaged to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences.
“This service is a dedicated helpline from which participants can also arrange face to face sessions and is an ongoing service available to them all after the series has ended.”
If you or someone you know is affected by the issues raised, help is available. contact: beyondblue 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au; Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au.
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