EKIN-SU Cülcüloğlu has found herself at the centre of a social media storm since being evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house.
The reality TV star, 29, has been trolled after claiming edits on the ITV programme were to blame for the public turning against her before she had a chance to watch episodes back.
7
It has led to a fierce backlash against the Love Island 2022 winner and got to the point that her family called out online abusers, who had accused her of ‘game-playing’ on the show.
“What made last night a thousand times harder though is seeing and listening to hateful comments, trolling, name calling and physical abuse threats,” they wrote in a statement.
“Nobody deserves this behaviour and to read some of what we did last night.”
Today Ekin-Su was due to appear on Lorraine before pulling out at the last minute for an unspecified reason, with host Lorraine Kelly insisting the star was “not happy… genuinely not pleased at all”.
Amid the growing fury over her CBB remarks and trolling online, we speak to former Love Islander Coco Lodge, who leaps to the defence of the actress and speaks out about the damning impact of trolling.
ANOTHER day, another social media pile-on – this time it’s Ekin-Su who is at the centre of the frenzy.
I feel like I understand what she’s going through as two years ago when I left the Love Island villa I became one of the show’s most trolled stars.
Everyone hated me, they made savage comments about my appearance and accused me of being a game player too.
7
But instead of jumping on the bandwagon and attacking Ekin-Su, the public should be THANKING her. She has been doing God’s work by bringing us good TV.
One of my biggest gripes is when people get trolled for being a game player on reality TV – after all these shows are essentially one big game.
Anyone who goes in with a strategy in mind is actually super clever and we should probably praise them for it because it will be exciting to watch.
Ekin-Su’s now being trolled, which can be hurtful but it’s always short-lived. Within no time at all they will have found a new target for their hate.
For me, it lasted around two months. After being mercilessly attacked online everyone was like, ‘You’re an icon and so great’ – it shows how fickle the world of social media can be.
Audiences love the drama but also hate on people for causing drama too and become protective over certain characters in reality TV shows.
Celebrity Big Brother: who’s left?
Who are the stars who have survived in the Celebrity Big Brother house? The Sun’s Jamie Downham takes a look…
GOING STRONG
Louis Walsh – The boyband manager, who’s has never knowingly backed down from a fight, regularly trends for for his outrageous remarks
Fern Britton – The former This Morning star called out Phillip Schofield – but has seemed like a kind and gentle soul in the house
Colson Smith – You’ll probably know him best as Corrie’s Craig Tinker – but prepare to find out he’s not much like his character
David Potts – Ibiza Weekender’s breakout star has left that show behind – as well as his trousers by the look of things
Marisha Wallace – It’s not CBB without the role of ‘American who doesn’t know what they’ve let themselves in for’ and she’s doing brilliantly
Nikita Kuzmin – The Strictly pro is coming onto the show fresh off the show’s tour. Poor lad probably just wants a rest
Zeze Millz – the social media star has a “no holds barred interview style” – and she hasn’t backed away from calling people (well, Louis) out
Bradley Riches – The actor played kindly James McEwan in Netflix hit Heartstopper and he seems just as sweet in the house
HEADED HOME
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu – After ruffling a few feathers and her spat with Marisha, this Love island star was sent packing
Levi Roots – The Reggae Reggae Sauce inventor time is up in the house and he was evited third
Sharon Osbourne – TV legend was a “house guest” on a megabucks deal and an ensuite bedroom, but disappeared after nine days
Lauren Simon – Real Housewives of Cheshire star was the second person to leave. The stars put her up for eviction and the public did the rest
Gary Goldsmith – Kate Middleton’s uncle was a big signing for ITV, but he was booted out first after failing to impress viewers
The key word there is ‘characters’ because there will always be villains and heroes in reality TV due to the way it’s edited. It’s almost like people forget they are essentially watching a game show.
Online all it takes is for one person to say ‘He or she has a game plan’ and thousands will pile on.
People want to jump on a bandwagon so they can be involved in the conversation and generally prefer to go with the crowd rather than have their own thoughts.
I would never troll someone because it’s so extreme and really unfair. I may talk with friends in a group chat and say ‘Oh, she’s annoyed me on tonight’s episode’ but taking it online is a new level.
It’s really not that deep. It’s a TV show at the end of the day and I hope Ekin-Su is doing ok.
People have attacked Ekin-Su for claiming the show edited her to make her look bad before she had watched footage back.
7
7
But again she’s not wrong to believe that and I think people have been a little bit unfair.
It’s a reality TV show so of course they are going to edit bits out and in CBB they have 24 hours of footage to condense into an hour-long show, so there’s going to be a lot of drama created thanks to clever cuts and the producers.
This will come as no relief right now for Ekin-Su, as she’ll be facing the brunt of brutal backlash from those online.
Troll torment
For me, the trolling was a bit different because it was about my looks.
It cut really deep because when people comment on your appearance it’s really personal and something you can’t really change without a lot of money.
The first time I became aware of it was just before a night out.
I’d gone to get my make-up done at the Westfield Shopping Centre, in Stratford, London, when some girls came up to me and asked, ‘Are you ok?’
Whether it was my nose, my lips or any other part of me that I read something vile about, I believed the imaginary imperfections existed and it really hurt
Coco Lodge
I hadn’t looked on Twitter properly until then but they told me about all of the trolling.
My friends, who had access to my social media accounts, had done such a good job blocking out keywords that I didn’t realise the true extent of the nasty remarks.
So I made a fake Twitter account and spent five hours reading every comment that had been written about me. It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced.
7
They said really awful things about how I looked and constantly claimed that I had a massive nose.
They compared me to cartoon characters like Felonious Gru from Despicable Me and the footballer Jonjo Shelvey.
The trolls said I was hideous, that I looked like a man and others remarked that I must have been in a car crash or a house fire.
I also discovered that on the day I went into the Love Island villa ‘Coco Lodge ugly’ was trending.
When you look at the majority of their profiles, they don’t use their real pictures. The trolls are cowards who hide behind their computer screens
Coco
At the time it really affected me. I spent a whole day crying, fell into a bit of a depression and noticed that my perception of myself changed too.
Whenever I looked in the mirror all I could see was the cruel things trolls had said.
Whether it was my nose, my lips or any other part of me that I read something vile about, I believed the imaginary imperfections existed and it really hurt.
It was a stressful and challenging time. I also didn’t feel able to date anyone for a long time after because I needed to focus on myself.
It took a few weeks for the trolling to die down and months for people to change their opinions of me. But in a strange way, I found power and strength from the situation.
7
Reading the comments was one of the best things I could have done because I was able to process it all and realise that they weren’t true or didn’t matter.
I read through so many nasty remarks that it felt like I had read everything negative that could ever have been written about me.
Now I feel someone could say something truly evil to my face and I wouldn’t even flinch.
I’m sure Ekin-Su will feel the same way soon. All she needs is a bit of time for self-love and quality time with close friends or family to help her heal.
Another quick mood booster is looking at the accounts who troll you. Nine out of 10 times they are strange and not the sort of people worth getting upset about.
Instead of letting this get to her, Ekin-Su should be laughing her way to the bank instead
Coco
When you look at the majority of their profiles, they don’t use their real pictures. The trolls are cowards who hide behind their computer screens.
She’s already battled this once after her time on Love Island and I know Ekin-Su will be able to do it again.
From what I remember of her from my time on the show, she was lovely and I’ve been impressed with the career she’s carved out for herself.
She’s disassociated herself from Love Island now but that’s just a smart business move in terms of branding.
When you look at all of the Love Islanders who have become super successful, like Molly-Mae Hague, they have distanced themselves from Love Island too.
Ekin-Su wants to become a Hollywood actress so it makes sense to try to move away from the perception that she’s just a ‘reality show star’.
Who has won Celebrity Big Brother?
THE first Celebrity Big Brother aired in March 2001 on Channel 4.
Roll on 23 years and a switch to Channel 5 in 2011, CBB is now into its 23rd season and is being hosted for the first time by ITV.
Here’s who has won the coveted title so far:
Season 1 (2001): Comedian Jack Dee beat actress Claire Sweeney despite walking out of the house and evading security for about an hour. The series was also more memorable for Vanessa Feltz telling Big Brother to “f*** off” after chalking “incarcerated”, “ambushed” and “restricted” on the table.
Season 2 (2002): Take That favourite Mark Owen triumphed over TV host Les Dennis. The latter won over the sympathy of the audience after his marriage breakdown to wife Amanda Holden.
Season 3 (2005): Maraca shaking Bez walked out the winner ahead of Blazin’ Squad’s Kenzie. The Happy Mondays star scooped the £50,000 and went on 10-hour bender, blowing the cash.
Season 4 (2006): This was the season when Big Brother really mixed things up – by sending in a non-celebrity from fictional band Kandy Floss. However, Chantelle Houghton won over viewers and housemates alike and was crowned the winner. During her time in the house she found love with Ordinary Boys singer Preston. There was also added drama when George Galloway pretended to be Rula Lenska’s pet cat.
Season 5 (2007): Actress Shilpa Shetty won after being caught up in a racism bullying row with former BB contestant Jade Goody, model Danielle Lloyd, and S Club’s Jo O’Meara.
Season 6 (2009): Ulrika Jonsson beat Terry Christian, but controversy came in the form of rapper Coolio who was slammed by viewers as misogynistic, however he finished in third spot.
Season 7 (2010): Alex Reid beat Dane Bowers and Vinnie Jones with a huge 65% of the vote. Alex married Katie Price one month later.
Season 8 (2011): In the first series to air on Channel 5, Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty was the unexpected winner, beating singer Kerry Katona.
Season 9 (2012): Loose Women star Denise Welch triumphed over X Factor contestant Frankie Cocozza, after stripping off while drunk and jumping into the hot tub topless.
Season 10 (2012): Comedian Julian Clary got the nod in the vote over Coleen Nolan.
Season 11 (2013): The X Factor’s Rylan Clark beat couple Heidi Montag
& Spencer Pratt, who were competing as “one entity” and known as Speidi.
Season 12 (2013): Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby beat 5ive singer Abz Love
Season 13 (2014): Jim Davidson won after a a blazing row with Linda Nolan. N-dubz Dappy took second spot.
Season 14 (2014): Gary Busey – who chose to roam around the CBB house naked – beat boxer Audley Harrison.
Season 15 (2015): Katie Price won the battle of the Katies as she saw off controversial Katie Hopkins in the final. The biggest talking point was American blogger’s Perez Hilton’s raging row with Calum Best, but the series also saw two early ejections of Jeremy Jackson and Ken Morley.
Season 16 (2015): Apprentice star James Hill beat model Austin Armacost. Tila Tequila was evicted on just the second day after she was found to have posted support for Adolf Hitler on social media.
Season 17 (2016): Geordie Shore’s Scotty T won after sharing a kiss with fellow housemate Tiffany Pollard. Stephanie Davis was runner-up.
Season 18 (2016): Stephen Bear won the show despite a huge row with radio star James Whale. Ricky Norwood placed second but this season saw Christopher Biggins ejected from the house after making an anti-Semitic joke.
Season 19 (2017): Coleen Nolan entered the CBB house for a second time – and this time came out the winner beating Jedward. During her second stint she had a massive showdown with horse star John McCririck.
Season 20 (2017): It was the battle of the reality show singers in the final, with Popstars: The Rivals winner and Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding beating The X Factor’s Amelia Lily.
Season 21 (2018): Courtney Act, otherwise known as Shane Jenek, won with politician Ann Widdecombe runner-up.
Season 22 (2018): Winning Dancing On Ice in 2024, was not Ryan Thomas‘s first reality show title. He won the CBB title in 2018, after a shocking “run-in” with Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallet, who falsely accused him of punching her. Actress Kirstie Alley came second.
It appears to be working, as she’s clearly very successful in the industry and is becoming well-known in the US.
I hope the harsh words by trolls don’t make her question her future as a media star or consider leaving the public spotlight.
During these difficult times, the best thing I can advise is for Ekin-Su to stick true to who she is and embrace all that is happening.
You can make a lot of money when trolls go after you on social media – and that’s on top of what I imagine was a mega pay cheque from Celebrity Big Brother, which I’m sure wasn’t a cheap one.
So instead of letting this get to her, Ekin-Su should be laughing her way to the bank instead. I recommend checking her bank balance and then going to Selfridges and having a lot of fun.