There’s a select group of people who have faced the microscopic view after a reality TV series makes its way into the mainstream, and “Summer House” star Ciara Miller certainly makes the cut after the relationship drama between herself, Amanda Batula and West Wilson erupted in the midst of Season 10.
It’s why Miller is confident she is approaching her hosting gig on “Love Island USA: Aftersun” with empathy towards the contestants (a.k.a islanders), and especially why she won’t put up with social media trolls critiquing her and Tefi Pessoa’s treatment of islanders.
“I sit in this position knowing what it’s like to be on reality TV, and to be a Black woman on reality TV … especially in this day and age,” Miller told TheWrap, noting there are “perspectives and nuances” she understands and takes into account in conversations with the islanders. “I want them to be seen, heard.”
Miller added that she does show “a certain amount of favoritism to the Black islanders,” noting “because they are me, I am them, I was them, and that is my community.”
“It’s an uphill battle with them being able to be understood, and I want to help them be understood in a different light,” Miller continued. “That’s never something I take for granted — being in this position and sitting in this seat, and that is why it is so important to humanize these people.”
With that level of attention in mind, Miller won’t stand for trolls, leading her to clap back in a post on Threads. “Honestly, respectfully, sit the f–k down. I literally lived it,” Miller said of any haters. “I’ve done a really great job over the past five, six years in reality TV being quiet on certain things, and I kind of feel … that is over.”
“Never disrespect my baby,” Pessoa, who similarly posted on social media about navigating viewers’ critiques of the duo being “too biased and then too unbiased,” added.
As Miller and Pessoa took the helm of the refurbished “Aftersun” show, which airs Saturdays, their main goal was to humanize the islanders and give the audience insight into who they are beyond their “Love Island” edit, which shrinks 24 hours into one hour episodes.
“I know what it’s like to be on reality TV, and for the audience to have a parasocial relationship with you,” Miller said. “But there’s so much more beyond what the audience is even seeing — there’s so much more of these islanders’ stories that we don’t know about, and you don’t really get to see in like such a fast-moving ensemble cast. So it really gives them the space to be able to like, know more about them, and also they get to spill a little tea.”
Pessoa said she hopes “Aftersun” feels like a “glam dining room” for the dumped islanders, where they can spill all about their time on the show in the safety of Pessoa and Miller.
“Sometimes these islanders … they would go to these podcasts where maybe they weren’t safe, or maybe they felt maybe being taken advantage of or something,” Pessoa said. “I very much have that in mind too, that we are the first friendly faces that aren’t production when they get off the island, and … I know that we’ll take care of them.”
The duo trusts the other inherently, though initially they were both picturing it would be a one-woman gig. “During the during my last interview … they were like, ‘Would you have a co-host,’ and I said ‘no,’ and they said, ‘What about Ciara Miller?’ I said, ‘oh my god, I would love that,’” Pessoa recalled.
“They were like, would you want to have a co-host and I was like, ‘no, no,’ and ‘They’re [like] well, what about Tefi,’ and I was like, ‘Actually, yes,’” Miller added.
The refreshed “Aftersun” has already worked: the first couple episodes more than doubled last year’s audience — rising 144% from Season 7 “Aftersun” episodes — demonstrating that the phenomenon of “Love Island” keeps growing.
“Everybody remembers a best friend break up or having a friend that you’re excited about betraying you,” Pessoa said. “There are all these dynamics that come with being a person in their 20s … you want to be liked, and you want to find love … that’s an exaggerated situation, but still we can all relate to every single one of them in some way. You can be mad at KC, but you also know how good it feels to be pursued.”
“Love Island USA” drops new episodes everyday on Peacock except Sundays at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.
The post Ciara Miller Rips ‘Love Island’ Trolls for Taking Aim at Her ‘Aftersun’ Work: ‘Sit the F–k Down’ appeared first on TheWrap.
