http://www.couriermail.com.au/rende...s/news-story/949c10572df96783c81a031c06dc2869
Skye Wheatley: I’m A Celebrity’s Keira Maguire deserves better from her campmates
If you’re unsure of what the definition of “mean” is, all you have to do is watch any episode of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here since Keira Maguire’s arrival.
Since she entered the camp, she has been picked on by other campmates and frankly, it’s sickening to watch.
I first met Keira because we both go to the same
nose surgeon. I was there for my initial consultation and she could tell I was nervous about my surgery. Because she had gone through it, she comforted me and told me I’d be fine and that there was no need to stress. She was just so lovely and supportive.
Witnessing the way she’s being treated now on the show is horrible. It feels so raw and familiar to me because that’s exactly how I was treated in the Big Brother house when I was a contestant in 2014.
Skye Wheatley’s time in the Big Brother house was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. (Pic: Channel Nine)
And I can assure you, being the butt of everyone’s jokes is psychologically damaging.
I was the youngest out of the group, it felt like no one really loved me, like no one was really a fan of me and everyone in the house just thought I was young and dumb. When things upset or frustrated me in the house, I would express my feelings and be instantly accused of “chucking tantrums” but when the others acted out, it would just get swept under the rug.
It became them against me and that’s exactly what I see when I watch how Keira is being treated by her campmates.
During a conversation about
cosmetic surgery on the show this week, Keira asked fellow campmate Ash Pollard if she’d had her “lips done”. Keira said her own had been enhanced but that she didn’t think they were “that obvious”.
Ash then said: “Sorry, what did you just say? You just said yours aren’t that obvious? Babe, you practically have a speech impediment, they’re that big.”
That’s really just mean.
On another recent episode, the whole group had to compete for the chance to eat some pie. Campmate Casey Donovan had a legitimate fear of snakes and forfeited the challenge before she had to come into contact with them. Everyone was so supportive and made her feel OK with her decision. Then when Keira forfeited because she didn’t want cockroaches poured all over her, it was a completely different story.
She even said she gave up to give Ash a spot in the pie eating group because she’d been hungry for longer. This was a lovely gesture but all some people cared about was making her feel bad for opting out of the challenge. She was even told that she needed to try harder which wasn’t fair because Keira had previously completed some pretty scary trials and collected a lot of stars that meant her campmates could eat a decent meal.
Keira Maguire collects stars during a tucker trial on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! (Pic: Channel 10)
Being the person that everyone seemingly decides to hate makes you feel really isolated. Before I went into the Big Brother house, I really thought I was good at communicating with all types and ages of people. I had an idea of myself as a really bubbly, outgoing person who could hold a good conversation with others. Then I went into the house and it felt like people instantly hated me before even getting to know anything about me. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I must suck”. They just made me feel so dumb.
The way they spoke to me, excluded me, rolled their eyes at me and whispered behind my back, it really hit hard. And that interpretation they had made of me, really rubbed off on the way I saw myself. It affects you deeply and changes who you are. For a long time after leaving the show, I doubted myself and who I was because these people decided I didn’t deserve to be treated with respect.
Keira entered the jungle as an intruder. (Pic: Channel 10)
I can see this happening now to Keira and it’s heartbreaking. The bickering that happens on the show reminds me of high school antics. It’s disheartening to see these people who should be role models, showing the rest of Australia that it’s OK to not include a person because they seem different.
Keira is different. If she doesn’t agree with someone, she speaks her mind. She’s very upfront and will say what she thinks. She’s honest. But this does not mean she deserves to be treated so badly.
Watching the show, there are times when I think, “Oh Keira, don’t make those baby noises” but what people need to realise is that there’s a big difference between watching someone have snakes put on them or doing crazy things at extreme heights and actually having to be there in that moment. You never know how you would react until you are actually there.
Once you’re put in those circumstances everything changes.
What we can all learn from this situation is compassion. We have the choice to side with those who exclude others or to open our minds and see someone who doesn’t fit our mould or idea of the “right kind of person” and strive to see the good in them.
Because Keira is a good person. She’s kind. She didn’t judge me when we met. She didn’t allow her prejudices to control how she treated me. We can all learn from her.
Skye Wheatley was a contestant on Big Brother in 2014.
We're sharing the love today with Free Express Shipping online today only Australia Wide! Loving this via @tahny89 and @jazzdbell photographed by @_christopherrobert_ | discount is automatically applied at check out #rollienation
