A woman branded ‘a parasite’ on air by Phil Schofield has accused the shamed presenter for bullying her and encouraging an internet ‘pile-on’.
Carla Bellucci, 41, was subsequently dubbed ‘the most hated woman in Britain’ in 2019 for admitting that she had lied to doctors about suffering from depression in order to get a nose job on the NHS.
There then followed a ‘car crash interview’ on This Morning when Schofield railed at her: ‘You freely admit – happily admit – that you’ve milked the NHS and you have lied.
‘You’ve been a parasite on the NHS.’
The mother-of-four said that when Schofield told her ‘You are going to get battered on social media’ during the interview, his words were tantamount to encouraging the social medial pile-on which she was subject to.
Carla Bellucci, 41, who was branded ‘a parasite’ on air by Phil Schofield has accused the shamed presenter for bullying her and encouraging an internet ‘pile-on’
During the ‘car crash interview’ on This Morning when Schofield railed at her: ‘You freely admit – happily admit – that you’ve milked the NHS and you have lied
Carla (pictured) from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, said a ‘programme counsellor’ called her after the show ‘because she was so worried’
‘I was an easy target,’ the former glamour model told MailOnline. ‘He just bullied me on air from the moment the cameras started rolling.
‘Okay, perhaps I was naïve going on there at all, but the ferocious way he just kept telling me “you’ve lied” was shocking then, and all the more so now that we know all about the lies he was telling everyone, including his own wife.
‘The man is a hypocrite, and it makes me angry to watch that clip over, even four years later. He also had the nerve to tell me that even after the £7k worth of surgery my nose was still “a bit off”.’
Carla from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, said a ‘programme counsellor’ called her after the show ‘because she was so worried’, and the programme sent her a huge bouquet of flowers with a card signed ‘from Phil and Holly’.
Internet blogger Carla, who boasts 151k followers on Instagram, had appeared in a newspaper story saying that she’d faked having depression in order to get a free nose job on the NHS.
She said she had flirted with her GP then lied to a surgeon about having depression and breathing problems in order to be given the op because she had a ‘bump’ on her nose and it slanted to one side.
Carla said the programme sent her a huge bouquet of flowers with a card signed ‘from Phil and Holly’ (pictured)
Internet blogger Carla (pictured), who boasts 151k followers on Instagram, had appeared in a newspaper story saying that she’d faked having depression in order to get a free nose job on the NHS
The mother-of-four said that when Schofield told her ‘You are going to get battered on social media’ during the interview
But she said she wasn’t prepared for the backlash following her appearance on This Morning.
‘I was no-one really, and here was TV’s golden boy laying into me for all he was worth. I kept my cool on screen, but I walked out of the studio and just felt worthless, it ruined my life for a while.
‘He looked at me with pure anger and told me I’d be battered on social media in a way that sounded to me as if he was encouraging the attacks on me.
‘He also said I was a parasite, milking the system and his words affected me for years after.
‘I’m a strong person with people around me who support me, but if I’d been more vulnerable, that kind of treatment could have driven me over the edge.’
She was slammed by viewers, with many taking to social media to express their outrage.
One wrote: ‘Absolute joke. Work, save and pay for a nose job like the rest of us do, if your a glamour model your not broke #ThisMorning.’
Another commented: ‘This story angers me, people are going through a difficult time with genuine mental health issues – how dare she fake depression?’
Having been pressed to admit she lied by an outraged Phil, she defended her position, saying: ‘I was born here, I do work – I feel like I haven’t done anything wrong.’
She went on to claim: ‘I’m one of many. I’m just the one who came forward.’
Several called for her to repay the money from the operation, with one saying:’She’s happy, she doesn’t care cos she got her new nose, now hopefully the NHS will send her the bill.’
There was even an online petition launched to press for her to be prosecuted for fraud.
Carla admitted to MailOnline that the entire ‘nose job’ story was hyped up, and in fact the operation was performed because of an old injury when she had been hit in the face.
Carla admitted to MailOnline that the entire ‘nose job’ story was hyped up, and in fact the operation was performed because of an old injury when she had been hit in the face
Although she mentioned during the consultation that her nose did get her down, that wasn’t the main reason the surgery was performed.
She added: ‘At the time I was desperate to get publicity as I always wanted to be in the media.
‘The suggestion that I lied about the depression came from bad advice from bad people.
‘I was very naive, and I do feel words were put into my mouth and the ITV gang wanted to go along with that line I just went with it.
‘if I knew then what I know now, I would have gone about it differently, but I really was naive and had no idea how much it would get me hated.
‘I think Phil knew how big it was going to be and I was like a lamb to the slaughter.’
A spokesman for the Royal Free London said at the time: ‘Carla Bellucci had a medical procedure at Chase Farm Hospital. No cosmetic work was carried out.
‘We would ask her to use our official complaints channels if she has any concerns about her care.’
Last year Carla, a former model on OnlyFans, featured on BBC’s Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over in which Carla’s daughter Tanisha, then 17, admitted her dream was to appear on Love Island and was considering having hip filler. She also said she might follow in her mum’s footsteps onto OnlyFans.
ITV were contacted for comment.
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