Love Island’s Shaughna Phillips has hit back at trolls who branded her a “money grabber” and admitted she was “hurt” by the accusations.
Shaughna was one of a number of social media influencers – including Josh Denzel and Chris Hughes – who were approached by the NHS to promote the track and trace app, designed to inform users when they’d been into contact with a person tested positive for coronavirus.
But some followers objected to Shaughna profiting from tax payers money and she’s now spoken out to defend her involvement in the campaign.
"It’s no different to a television advert or newspaper advert, and, I mean, I’ve worked for the council for four years before Love Island, so I’ve been getting paid by taxpayer money since 2017 and I am a taxpayer,” she said.
CHECK OUT reality TV rich list: lockdown edition
Celebrity rich list: lockdown edition
1 of 10Marnie Simpson
Followers: 7 MEarnings per post: £21,184.10Posts since lockdown: 26
2 of 10Holly Hagan
Followers: 5.9 MEPP: £17,728.41PDL: 23
3 of 10Vicky Pattison
Followers: 4.6 MEPP: £13,850.59PDL: 16
4 of 10Molly-Mae Hague
Followers: 4.3 MEPP: £12,960.40PDL: 16
5 of 10Charlotte Crosby
Followers: 3.8 MEPP: £11,502.95PDL: 7
6 of 10Millie Mackintosh
Followers: 3.7 MEPP: £11,331.13PDL: 28
7 of 10Binky Falstead
Followers: 3.6 MEPP: £10,968.91PDL: 27
8 of 10Ferne McCann
Followers: 3.4 MEPP: £10,343.36PDL: 15
9 of 10Louise Thomspon
Followers: 3.2 MEPP: £9,809.10PDL: 25
10 of 10Gemma Collins
Followers: 3.1 MEPP: £9,440.05PDL: 14
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“It’s one of them things where people just like to be outraged. Especially when there’s a face to it and they’ve got someone they can pick on.”
Speaking to Metro.co.uk she continued, "I’m pretty tough-skinned. It’s actually strange. When people troll me for my looks or things like that, things like that don’t bother me. But when they judge my character, it definitely hurts me a lot more.”
Shaughna took part in the first ever series of Winter Love Island this year, arriving back in the UK in February before the UK went into lockdown in mid-march.
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As a result, the most recent batch of Islanders are believed to have lost out on thousands in earnings, with PR expert Jack Cooper telling the same publication, “The Winter Love Island stars are set to lose huge amounts of money, some contestants up to £500,000.
"Brand deals at the moment are at an all-time low, many companies are not able to afford the usual Love Island prices for sponsorship deals. They are also missing out on club appearances due to them being closed, which could have earned them up to £5,000 per hour."