The producers of the UK's "Celebrity Big Brother" have fired Tila Tequila after just one day, amid amid backlash over an image of her posing in Nazi uniform in front of a concentration camp and pro-Hitler comments.
A Channel 5 spokesman told the London-based Mirror: “Unfortunately, Channel 5 and Endemol did not know about the views and attitudes Tila had expressed in social media postings prior to her involvement in Celebrity Big Brother. When they were brought to our attention, she was called to the Diary Room for a discussion with producers and was subsequently removed from the house. The views Tila had expressed, and permitted to remain uncorrected, are totally unacceptable and, accordingly, her continued involvement in the program was untenable.”
It comes after a Jewish group slammed Channel 5 and the makers of Celebrity Big Brother for using Tila, who is embroiled in controversy over an image of her posing in Nazi uniform in front of a concentration camp.
Although Tila entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on night one, she was removed as of night number two when the fct she posted the image of herself standing in front of Auschwitz back in December 2013, holding a gun and wearing a Nazi armband and hat, came to the producers' attention.
Tequila, born Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, then continued to spark controversy with further anti-semitic rants and claimed to be Adolf Hitler reincarnated.
She also called Hitler “a brilliant artist” who was “ahead of his time” and then said she has “the same hopes and dreams as Hitler”.
"The British public has little time for attention seeking Nazi sympathisers like Tila Tequila, said Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Communications at the Campaign Against Anti-semitism. "Channel 5 and Endemol Shine UK ought to be ashamed of themselves for promoting such a deeply offensive and nasty person on prime time television. Her repulsive writings on the Hitler, the Holocaust and on Jewish people make her a totally unacceptable participant for this program. Channel 5 ought to remove her immediately from the programme, and apologise fully for their enormous error of judgement. She should then be given the exact amount of public attention as she deserves: none.”
He added: “The undeniable facts and horrors of the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jewish people were systematically murdered, should be remembered by us all, as decent human beings. It is our responsibility to teach the next generation of this darkest chapter of our history so as to help them form a fairer future.”
A spokeswoman for Channel 5 confirmed with the Evening Standard that it was investigating the comments made by Tequila.
She said: "These comments did not come to the attention of Channel 5 or Endemol UK prior to this contestant's entry into the Big Brother house. We are currently investigating these comments."
The Anti-Defamation League previously told Radar in a statement: “This is clearly a person who is desperate for publicity at all costs. One minute she’s a Jew, the next minute she’s a Nazi.Who knows where she will go next. To judge by the responses to the Hitler imagery on her Facebook page, most people find it as repugnant as we do, so her public may have the final word.”
Tweet @Popwrecked about Tila Tequila!
