Ever since appearing on our screens in the 2019 season of The Bachelor alongside Matt Agnew, Abbie Chatfield has proved consistently she’s not afraid to stand up to sexist and outdated views—and we expected no different from her latest stint on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here.
For the past week, while Abbie has regularly appeared in the jungle dressed in her bikini, fellow contestants have made comments about her need to “cover” herself—which, we feel we need to point out that the group are in the middle of Springbrook National Park in the heat of the Australian summer.
Things came to a head during Wednesday night’s episode when Chatfield was asked by retired Australian rules footballer Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico how she “walks around like that.”
“You’re not going out like that,” he told her, adding dressing such a way was “attracting attention” and “asking for it.”
The reality star was quick to ask Dipper what he meant by the comment, with the 62-year-old explaining he was simply looking out for her in the same manner a father would if his daughter were to try and leave the house in a miniskirt, later adding it was simply due to a “generational gap.”
In a confessional, Abbie later admitted that while the comments didn’t affect her, she didn’t want to push the idea that women need to hide their bodies or have what they choose to wear dictated by anyone.
“That’s been said to me like five times in here, and it’s not that it affects me, not that I’m thinking like, ‘Oh, I should cover-up,’ it’s just, I don’t want that idea to be pushed. It’s just not okay,” she said.
“I don’t want young girls or young women to hear that being said and think it’s normal and don’t feel like they can stick up for themselves.”
It also should be noted that contestant Ash Williams, who was standing next to Abbie during the conversation, was dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts.
Reflecting on the conversation, Abbie adds the implication of such ideas is that “men are dangerous, but it’s our fault.”
And she’s right, the excuse that women are “asking for it” by wearing particular clothing often outweighs the argument that boys and men should be taught to treat people with respect, and lays blame on victims over perpetrators.
Many took to Twitter to praise Abbie on sticking up for herself.
“Thank you, Abbie, for not accepting a ‘generation gap’ as an excuse to be sexist just because you’re old doesn’t mean you get a free misogyny pass,” one wrote.
Another added, “Thank you Abbie Chatfield—you wearing a bikini does not mean you/anyone is ‘asking for it’. I felt every tear and your heart pounding as you questioned him.”
Following the episode, Abbie also took to Instagram to share her thoughts on watching the scene unfold onscreen.
“Women are told to cover up, or risk being accused of asking for it. What ‘it’ is may range from attention to sexual assault,” she began. “We are told alter our behaviour because men are dangerous. The notion that comments like this exist because men are ‘protecting’ us is, put bluntly, fucking bullshit.
“Whether I was in bikinis, my camp gear or running around naked, a comment on what I’m wearing is never warranted. @ashwilliams1 barely has his shirt on (joyous vibes for me), and nothing is mentioned. Twitter is going off about how much they love him for le rig, but each pool scene is met with people telling me to put my tits away.”
Abbie adds, “Some on Twitter are saying that I should get over it, and that every woman has heard a comment like this from their father, but missing the fact that… That is precisely my fucking point.”
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