'Shame on you': Channel 7 slammed over 'disgusting' WAG move
Channel 7 are under fire after controversial former footy WAG Arabella Del Busso was confirmed as one of the contestants on SAS Australia on Monday night.
Del Busso, the former partner of Wests Tigers player Josh Reynolds, appeared on the first episode of the new Channel 7 reality show alongside a number of other sporting stars including Mitchell Johnson, Nick Cummins, Candice Warner, Sabrina Fredericks and Shayna Jack.
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The likes of Schapelle Corby, Roxy Jacenko and Jackson Warne (Shane Warne’s son) are also competing on the show, but it’s Del Busso’s appearance that’s caused the most controversy.
Reynolds has accused his former partner - real name Donna Preusker - of faking three pregnancies while they were together.
In an interview with 60 Minutes in June, Del Busso admitted to sending Reynolds a fake ultrasound but denied faking the pregnancies.
A post shared by Bella Del Busso (@littlebellsy) on
When asked if she lied about the pregnancies, Del Busso replied: “I’m denying those claims.”
When reporter Tom Steinfort asked “is that a no?”, she said: “I didn’t say that”.
Reynolds claims Del Busso faked pregnancies and a severe health condition during their tumultuous relationship, which culminated in domestic violence allegations against Reynolds that have since been dropped.
According to the Courier Mail, contestants on SAS Australia were paid up to $150,000, adding to the criticism of the decision to sign Del Busso.
“I am disgusted they would put my daughter on air as a celebrity,” Del Busso’s mother Isobel told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s bad enough she has hurt Josh Reynolds - now they are rubbing his face in it by paying her to be on TV.
“He doesn’t deserve this, not from her. He has been through a lot and had his reputation questioned or ruined by her. It’s disgusting. It really should be criminal.”
Shit got real 😳.... I’m strong.. independent and resilient 💪🏽 @sasaust7
A post shared by Bella Del Busso (@littlebellsy) on
And Isobel wasn’t alone in hitting out at Channel 7.
“This is disgusting Channel 7. Shame on you. You are better than this,” writer Megan Hustwaite wrote on Twitter.
James Silver of the Daily Telegraph wrote: “I wouldn’t wish what Josh Reynolds went through on my worst enemy. And Channel 7 rewards her with a TV show.”
While Fox Sports’ Mark Gottlieb wrote: “Another example that infamy and fame are just two sides of the same coin.”
Google Arabella Del Busso or any of the other 10 aliases she runs by.
— Cyril Sidestep (@CyrilSidestep) October 19, 2020
Watch Arabella Del Busso argue the producers intentionally made her look bad @SASAust7 What a swine on society #SASAustralia
— Tara Pokarier (@tara_pokarier) October 19, 2020
Arabella del Busso is not a glamour model.
She's a con artist. Deserves zero publicity to help rebuild a reputation she so flagrantly decimated entirely on her own.
If the media had a shred of decency, they wouldn't give that person a second of their time.— Andrew Ferguson (@AndrewRLP) October 1, 2020
Why did you have to cast Schapelle Corby and Arabella Del Busso? A convicted drug smuggler and a scam artist. Surely you could have found better people? https://t.co/vGjrGjpJ0r
— Anthony Webb (@anthonyqld) September 28, 2020
Reynolds and Del Busso’s tumultuous relationship
In the interview with 60 Minutes, Del Busso said she sent the fake ultrasound because she was “being spiteful.”
“Is faking pregnancies normal? Is faking your mum's death normal? Making me go through all that. Is it? I would love an answer from her,” Reynolds told 60 Minutes.
“It broke me, literally. I was so into this whole relationship and baby thing that I was hurting so much.”
Reynolds said he and Del Busso met in 2018 and after a one-night stand she told him she was pregnant.
The NRL star said he always wanted kids so decided to try and make things work, but red flags began popping up when Del Busso wouldn’t let him attend any doctor’s appointments.
“I got text messages saying like, ‘I've got this condition. I'm going to die. I'm glad that you're going to be here to look after the baby’,” Reynolds revealed.
“Funnily enough, again we were going through a bad patch and now I think about it, that was the ploy. Every time I look to push away (from the relationship) make up something new, placenta accreta, miscarriage, mum die, whatever else she made up. And it makes sense because that's how I got roped in every time.”
Reynolds and Del Busso ended their relationship shortly before she accused him of domestic violence, however police later dropped the charges.
Reynolds said video of him yelling at Del Busso was hard to watch and he’d never lay a hand on a woman in anger.
“I don’t like that image. That 28 seconds is something I’ll never be able to take back in my life,” he said.
“I actually struggle to watch that, to be honest, it’s not how I’ve been brought up.
“I even hate looking at that person. I don’t ever want to be that person ever again.”
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