Receiving criticism online is par for the course as a reality TV star, as Love Is Blind contestant Chelsea Griffin is finding out the hard way.
The pediatric speech-language pathologist recently called out internet trolls who she says made “hurtful” comments about herself and her Love Is Blind castmates.
Taking to her Instagram Story to end the week, Chelsea shared a selfie with a lengthy message for her haters.
Chelsea wore a green puffer jacket, a white sweater, and white floral drop earrings and pulled her hair into a side braid, looking fresh-faced and beautiful.
Holding a bottle of Coca-Cola, Chelsea smiled as the song Good Days by SZA played.
“Oof the internet can be a very hurtful place,” Chelsea wrote. “Here’s my reminder that I’m a human being with a beating heart and a brain and a family and a job. As are my castmates.”
Chelsea Griffin calls social media a ‘very hurtful place’
The Netflix star continued, “We are not characters to slam and shame. Respectfully, if you have nothing nice to say then listen to your mothers advice and don’t say anything at all. Have a coke and a smile or whatever makes you happy and go do something productive. Have a good day.”
Chelsea also added a gif that read, “Have a Coke and a smile.”
Chelsea didn’t specify what was said about or to her or which castmates experienced hate online either.
Micah and Irina: The ‘mean girls’ of Love Is Blind Season 4
At least two of Chelsea’s Love Is Blind castmates came under fire this season for being on the opposite end of the spectrum and dishing out some hate.
Irina Solomonova and Micah Lussier have been labeled “mean girls” for their behavior during Season 4 of Love Is Blind. Many viewers felt the duo, who bonded quickly after meeting, were mean toward the other women in the experiment.
In one such instance, Micah and Irina were eavesdropping when Amber got dumped by Paul Peden (who later proposed to Micah) and laughed while Amber cried over the ordeal while talking to Chelsea.
During a date in the pods with Zack Goytowski, Irina told him that Bliss Poureetezadi (Zack’s eventual fiancee after dumping Irina) was being mean to her, seemingly in an attempt to stir up controversy and make him pick her.
Micah and Irina then found it humorous that Chelsea was having problems with her fiance, Kwame.
However, neither Micah nor Irina feel their behavior was mean. Micah even defended their actions, claiming they acted in such a way as a “coping mechanism.”
“For us, it was really helpful to have a little sense of normalcy,” Micah told Entertainment Weekly. “Being able to laugh and make light and make jokes and, well, maybe sometimes the jokes didn’t land, or maybe it didn’t look the best, but we needed that in that moment to feel like a normal person.”
Things should get interesting on Sunday when the live reunion streams on Netflix, bringing the contestants face-to-face for the first time since Season 4 aired. Be sure to receive a notification on Netflix when streaming begins so you don’t miss any of the drama.
Love Is Blind: The Live Reunion will stream globally from Los Angeles on Sunday, April 16, at 8/7c on Netflix.