A former Big Brother Malta contestant has responded to criticism about her behaviour by wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with negative comments made about her time in the show.
During last Sunday's live episode, Raisa Camilleri wore the T-shirt that included insults and phrases like "Judas".
It was one of a series of comments made about her by people accusing her of betraying her fiancé and making insinuations about her close friendship with another contestant, Jay Vella.
"If I was her fiancé I would think she was cheating," wrote another commenter. "Is the wedding still going to happen," asked another.
Camilleri, a 28-year-old gaming industry professional, was evicted from the reality show a month ago but returned to the live broadcast with a bold response to her critics.
The T-shirt featuring remarks about her, is part of a subversive trend of clapback shirts, where women, including high-profile celebrities, take negative remarks about themselves and turn them into fashion.
Examples include Hailey Bieber, the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, wearing a 'Nepo Baby' T-shirt or body-positive model Michaela Stark wearing a 'Bring Back Gisele' tee.
Camilleri said the comments on her shirt were taken from remarks made by her housemates behind her back, as well as opinions shared by Big Brother Malta opinionists.
“When I came out, I never thought they would say this about me. I was really surprised,” Camilleri told Times of Malta.
“It is 2025, you would think by now it would be normal for a guy and a girl to be friends, but here we are,” she said. “But instead, they are saying stuff like 'a fine line has been crossed.'”
Camilleri said she formed a loose friendship with Jay during the show, which led to scrutiny from both public, opinionists and fellow contestants. Many questioned whether their relationship went beyond friendship and speculated about her fiancé’s feelings.
“I am happily engaged to my partner and have been with him for over six years. This experience has made us even stronger, and we know what we have,” she said.
She acknowledged the show’s popularity and believes the level of attention she received was partly due to the limited number of popular television shows in Malta.
“I understand that people have their opinion and that they have the right to comment but it doesn’t excuse anyone using abusive language or getting my partner involved either,” she said, adding that while she signed up for the show, her fiancé did not.
Despite the negativity, Camilleri decided to embrace the criticism, creating the T-shirt at Zaky’s Stationery in Naxxar.
“These comments definitely made me stronger and taught me that you need to be careful with who you trust,” she concluded.