Shamed ‘Big Brother’ contestant Ellis Hillon has claimed she is "not a racist".
The 20-year-old fast food worker entered the house on Friday night (14.09.18), but was removed less than 24 hours into the latest series after it emerged she had posted a string of "offensive and unacceptable" tweets in 2014 – and she has now issued a statement declaring she is "deeply ashamed" of her behaviour.
In a statement, she said: "I want to stress how sorry I am about any offence and upset that was caused due to what I have said on social media.
"I understand that I was totally in the wrong and I should never have said such horrible things.
"All the comments were from my teenage years and I am deeply ashamed of them. I didn’t stop to think how they could be so hurtful at the time.
"I am totally heartbroken at the fact that my dream of going on Big Brother has ended this way and I wasn’t able to show people the ‘real me’.
"If I had been given the chance I would have shown everyone that I’m not racist. I was getting on very well and interacting with the other housemates from different backgrounds and I want people to know that I’m not a bad person. I hope people can forgive me."
Following her premature ‘Big Brother’ exit, the Glasgow native’s job at McDonald’s is said to be in doubt.
A McDonald’s spokesperson recently said: "We do not comment on individual employees but can confirm we are looking into these alleged social media posts."
A spokesman for ‘Big Brother’ said: "As a result of our investigation into offensive and unacceptable posts on social media, Ellis Hillon has been removed from the Big Brother house."
On Sunday night’s (16.09.18) episode, Ellis was summoned to the Diary Room where she was handed a piece of paper with the tweets on and asked if she had sent the messages.
She said: "Yeah I did, years ago … but yeah."
Big Brother then said: "Big Brother does not tolerate offensive language. As a result we will be removing you immediately."
When asked if she had anything to say, she replied: "No. Apart from that I’m sorry. I don’t want to see anyone. I just want to go home."
Ellis’ posts have now all been deleted.
Ellis Hillon claims she’s ‘not a racist’
