Embattled Seven News reporter Georgia Love has been dropped as an ambassador for Chadstone Shopping Centre just days after posting a ‘racist’ video on Instagram.
The journalist, 33, had sparked backlash on Monday for sharing footage of a cat behind the window of an Asian restaurant and writing: ‘Shop attendant or lunch?!’
She later deleted the video and apologised, but her social media activity, including a similar post from 2013, is now the subject of an ongoing investigation at Seven.
A Chadstone spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Friday Love’s contract had been terminated on the day she posted the offensive video.
Dumped: Seven News reporter Georgia Love (pictured on Thursday) has been dropped as an ambassador for Chadstone Shopping Centre just days after posting a ‘racist’ video online
‘We were disappointed by a social media post this week by one of our friends of the Chadstone brand and, as a result, we issued notice to end our contract with Georgia,’ they said.
‘We always support diversity and welcome a range of customers and retailers every day, without prejudice or discrimination, as we work to ensure our centre is a safe and inclusive place for our community to come together.’
Love’s manager, Sean Anderson at 22 Management, said he was ‘disappointed’ by the retailer’s move but ‘respects’ its decision.
Mr Anderson also said his client had been subjected to ‘trolling’ amid the scandal.
Divisive: The journalist, 33, had sparked backlash on Monday for sharing footage (above) of a cat behind the window of an Asian restaurant and writing: ‘Shop attendant or lunch?!’
‘We are disappointed by Chadstone’s decision to end their relationship with Georgia but we respect their right to do so,’ he said.
‘We are focused on providing as much support as we can to Georgia as the trolls are currently in full flight and intent on inflicting as much damage as they can on her.’
Love, a former Bachelorette who is now a Melbourne-based news reporter for Seven, had posted the ‘offensive’ video on Instagram Stories on Monday.
Dropped: A Chadstone spokesperson said on Friday Love’s contract had been terminated on the day she posted the offensive video. Pictured at a ’60 Years of Chadstone’ event in June
The footage showed a cat behind the window of a Chinese restaurant and featured the text: ‘Shop attendant or lunch?!’
She deleted the post and apologised after being called out by ‘influencer watchdog’ Instagram account Aussie Influencer Opinions.
The same account later discovered another of Love’s posts from February 2013 in which she made a similar joke about domestic pets and Asian restaurants.
Love’s 2013 post showed an ‘animal hospital’ next to a restaurant called ‘China Chef’.
Below the photo of the two storefronts was a cartoon image of a dog, alongside the text: ‘That’s suspicious…’
Love captioned it at the time: ‘Best.’
Nixed: ‘We were disappointed by a social media post this week by one of our friends of the Chadstone brand and, as a result, we issued notice to end our contract with Georgia,’ a Chadstone spokesperson said
Love has not addressed the 2013 post but did apologise for the ‘Shop attendant or lunch?!’ post when she was called out on Monday.
‘Earlier I posted a video of a cat in a restaurant window. I meant for this to be a joke about an animal being in a restaurant at lunch service time,’ she said.
‘I meant absolutely no insinuation about the type of animal nor the type of restaurant, but I see that my post did not come across like that and was offensive.
‘I sincerely apologise for the oversight and offence I have caused. Thank you to those who called me out. This is what we need to make sure we are all accountable and do better.
‘Again, I apologise from the bottom of my heart for the offence caused.’
Despite her apology, the backlash to Love’s video was swift.
Apology: Love deleted the cat video and apologised (pictured), but her social media activity, including a similar post from 2013, is now the subject of an ongoing investigation at Seven
Not the first time: Instagram account Aussie Influencer Opinions discovered another of Love’s posts from February 2013 in which she made a similar joke about pets and Asian restaurants
Feminist author Clementine Ford commented on Instagram: ‘It confirms again how low Australia sets the bar for people to be given high-profile jobs in TV media, and just how insular they are allowed to be.’
MasterChef judge Melissa Leong, who is of Chinese-Singaporean descent, also revealed she felt ‘hurt’ and ‘betrayed’ because she knows Love personally.
‘”Shop attendant or lunch?”‘ posted on a video of a cat in a Chinese restaurant by someone I know, who also happens to carry a fair amount of influence,’ Leong wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
‘Casual racism from nice people is possibly the most betraying and insidious kind.’
Weighing in: Despite her apology, the backlash to Love’s video was swift, with feminist author Clementine Ford (left) and MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (right) criticising her online
Melissa admitted she felt ‘bummed’ about the situation, especially as Georgia was also accused of sharing another ‘racist’ Instagram post eight years ago.
‘Not angry, just completely bummed that this video exists and that it isn’t the first joke of this kind made by her,’ she wrote.
‘Georgia, I really hope your remorse is real and that you grow in the right direction, because this stuff hurts more people, more than you think.
Disappearing act: In the aftermath of the scandal, Love deleted her Twitter account (pictured) and limited comments on her Instagram profile
‘We must be allies for each other for a better world for all.’
Seven has launched an investigation into Love’s ‘racist’ social media activity, with a source telling The Daily Telegraph the network is taking the matter seriously.
In the aftermath of the scandal, Love deleted her Twitter account and limited comments on her Instagram profile.
Under scrutiny: Seven has launched an investigation into Love’s ‘racist’ social media activity, with a source telling The Daily Telegraph the network is taking the matter seriously