Married At First Sight star Eliot Donovan has been forced to defend his choice of words after being called out by UK fans for making a ‘racist’ remark.
Taking to TikTok this week, Eliot, 35, shared a clip that showed him shirtless at a stove preparing a large pot of pasta.
‘You are watching a master at work,’ a narrator said over the clip before Eliot gave the camera a cheeky wink.
But it was his caption that most fans, particularly those in the UK, took severe umbrage with.
He wrote: ‘POV: you cosplay as a wog to impress a girl.’
Fans were quick to comment on the post, with many calling Eliot out for his use of the term ‘wog’.
In the UK, the term ‘wog’, originally derived from the word ‘Gollywog’, is still considered a racial slur used to refer to Black and South Asian people.
It was once considered a slur in Australia too, referring to people of Mediterranean descent, but is now considered more of a ‘term of endearment’ Down Under.
However, the term may be employed either aggressively or affectionately in Australia, depending on context.
‘Not going to lie…. I gasped at the caption!’ one follower wrote.
‘Would love to know what it means in Australia as the UK know that word in a different way.’
Another chimed in with: ‘Oooo Eliot, You’re dividing the internet here my friend.’
‘I’m from the GB and I’m afraid I’m offended – and it’s been far too long of hard work to normalise this word elsewhere.’
‘As a Brit, my mouth dropped,’ another offered.
A third summed up the sentiment of many angry UK fans with: ‘Broke my neck coming to the comments. As brit I’m sat here like, ya canny say that love.’
Sensing he was indeed dividing the internet, Eliot clarified his use of the term in the clip’s caption.
‘Wog = someone of southern European descent, used as a term of endearment in Australia,’ Eliot wrote.
Other Aussie fans were quick to rush to Eliot’s defence, with one adding: ‘100% does not mean the same thing. Technically it’s slang for a Greek person, but most Australians use it for all Mediterraneans.’
A second shared: ‘To those comment about the term WOG, it is traditional (sic) a racial slur, but over the last 100 yrs Greeks have taken ownership of the term and refer to themselves as wog, they have removed the negative.’
Yet another jumped in with: ‘It’s no longer a racial slur here. It’s a term of endearment Italian, Greek and Lebanese people are called/call themselves. I’m a proud wog.’
It was a rare social media misstep for Eliot who has had fans swooning over recent posts that have ignited rumours of a romance with Jamie Marinos.
In the weeks since they shared a bed together in Sydney before Daily Mail Australia’s Reunion party, the pair have continued to fan the flames of romance rumours.
Neither has publicly confirmed a relationship, leaving some question as to whether their outings together are to gain social media attention.
Jamie recently broke her silence on the rumoured romance, telling Nine Entertainment that their relationship is not just for the cameras.
‘We have so much fun together, getting to know each other, and making Tik Toks are always so much fun,’ Jamie said.
‘But for me, the important thing is that it’s not a publicity stunt, we just genuinely enjoy being around each other.’
Jamie, who failed to find forever love with groom Dave Hand, said that she and Eliot, 35, had simply clicked after their time on the Channel Nine series.
She said that Eliot had provided support in the weeks following her split with Dave.
‘We only started hanging around each other since we both left our marriages, just over a month ago,’ she said.
‘He’s always been a very good friend to me, but he’s been a really amazing support system.’
While admitting that the pair had become close, Jamie stopped short of hard launching any romantic entanglement with Eliot.
‘I understand everyone wants an answer but we’re in the real world now, so it’s not like we’re going to be official or announce something tomorrow,’ she added.