From a heated debate over her experience of ‘pretty privilege’ to her clashes with other housemates, controversial Big Brother Australia star Holly Young says she is just misunderstood.
The model, who was evicted from the reality show on Sunday night, believes that her neurodivergence made her hard to understand – and was ‘used against her’ during her time on the show.
After leaving the house, the 31-year-old revealed that she suffers from auditory processing disorder (APD), dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
‘I [learned] to be a lot more cautious with what I say, because there were a lot of people that were nitpicking at every single thing that I said, and I wasn’t really open about the fact that I have an auditory processing issue and that I am dyslexic with ADHD. That’s a lot to deal with,’ Holly told Refinery 29 on Monday.
‘Did I want to have to disclose that to the house? No. Should I have? [It] would have made it easier for me, potentially, but at the end of the day that’s my choice, and I’m entitled to it, so the fact that was kind of used against me did hurt.’
APD is described as a neurological condition where the brain has difficulty processing what the ears have heard.
From a heated debate over her experience of ‘pretty privilege’ to her clashes with other housemates, controversial Big Brother Australia star Holly Young (pictured) says she is just misunderstood
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
Dyslexia causes problems with spelling and reading because it affects the way the brain processes information and particularly the sounds within words.
Holly said she ‘didn’t feel safe’ bringing up her diagnoses in the house.
‘I just didn’t want to give anybody in the house any more ammunition, so I just thought that I would keep that to myself,’ she said.
‘And honestly, I’ve worked so hard [that] I didn’t want to sort of draw attention to it.’
Holly famously clashed with fellow housemate Abiola Oreyomi in a fiery debate over ‘pretty privilege’ last month.
The fracas was started by Vincent Brigante, who brought up an earlier conversation he had with Abiola about the subject.
‘When I was talking to Abs, Abs was saying prettier people in society get treated differently,’ he told the group.
The model, who was evicted from the reality show on Sunday night, believes that her neurodivergence made her hard to understand – and was ‘used against her’ during her time on the show
Holly, who had already courted controversy, shot back that she did not agree with the concept of pretty privilege ‘at all’.
‘Yes, there are privileges that come with being beautiful, but pretty privilege, I always say this, is a double-edged sword,’ she said.
‘Sometimes when a beautiful girl walks into a room, sometimes we don’t want to be noticed when we walk in the room.’
Disagreeing with Holly’s sentiment, Abiola shot back with: ‘Yeah, but I’d rather that than people not give me the time of day because they think I’m gross.’
‘You guys live an easier life,’ she added. ‘People don’t think you’re disgusting do you know what I’m saying?’
Holly replied aloofly: ‘I can’t relate to that. People have called me stuck up. I’ve been sexualised.’
Abiola shot back: ‘I’d rather be sexualised than people not want to even look at me,’ to which Holly replied: ‘Do you think it’s fun being sexualised?’
Replying that she didn’t, Abiola continued: ‘But I’m a black woman and I’ve also been sexualised, too. I’d rather people think I’m stuck up, sexualised, than people think I’m gross and not give me the time of day.’
After leaving the house, the 31-year-old revealed that she suffers from auditory processing disorder (APD), dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Clearly angry over the exchange, Abiola took herself away from the table, telling the group: ‘I’m actually getting a bit fired up. I’m getting p***ed off.’
She retired inside, breaking down in tears as she was consoled by fellow housemates.
A clip of the fiery clash was uploaded to the Big Brother Instagram, and it drew a flurry of comments from viewers.
‘Holly please gal shhh,’ one wrote. ‘Less talking, more listening, you have an opportunity to get something out of the experience.’
Another chimed in with: ‘If Holly gets nominated and not evicted, I will lose faith in people that watch this show. She has been the most self-absorbed person.’
‘Thinking pretty privilege doesn’t exist IS pretty privilege,’ another added while a third chimed in with: ‘Holly is so full of it and self-centred.’
Holly also came under fire for her romance with housemate Colin Ridley, which some viewers felt was ‘fake’.
She was accused of using Colin as a way of staying in the house after a video showed her acting completely differently once she spotted the cameras.
Holly famously clashed with fellow housemate Abiola Oreyomi (pictured) in a fiery debate over ‘pretty privilege’ last month
Holly also came under fire for her romance with housemate Colin Ridley (pictured), which some viewers felt was ‘fake’
The video, which was reposted on TikTok, saw a flurry of fans take to the comments section to point out Holly’s tactics on the show.
‘Couples make it to the end. Smart move!’ one person simply wrote, implying she was trying to win Big Brother by staging a romance.
Another fan added: ‘She is playing for the cameras.’
‘There’s no way she will make it to the end when it’s clear it’s absolutely not genuine,’ another person predicted.
Other viewers took pity on Colin, accusing Holly of ‘using him’ to get ahead.
‘She’s a mess and using him,’ a disgruntled fan wrote, with another chiming in: ‘Bye, Holly. Stop playing with Colin’s emotions.’
