Bachelorette star Elly Miles called out for Australia Day photo

Former Bachelorette Elly Miles has been called out for sharing a photo celebrating with friends on Australia Day, after she was slammed by her followers and subsequently issued an apology for the exact same thing last year.

In 2021, the reality TV star copped heavy backlash after she told her followers she wouldn’t be celebrating on such a "traumatic and awful" date – hours before sharing footage of herself enjoying some drinks at a pool party.

Elly, who had even attended a 'Change the Date' rally that day, shared a public apology on her Instagram in which she wrote: "I had a complete lapse of judgment and have a lot of regret for my actions. I sincerely apologise for upsetting anyone."

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And yet, one year later, another photo of the 27-year-old has caused a stir on social media.

The image, showing Elly enjoying some drinks with friends, was shared by the celeb_spellcheck Instagram account, where it was flooded with comments from outraged followers.

"Doing exactly what she apologised for last year," the caption of the image read.

"Is she serious? Did she not reflect and learn last year? Obviously her ‘apology’ last year meant nothing," The Sodramaticpodcast account commented.

However, this year Elly was quick to defend herself against any backlash, taking to her Instagram stories to clarify that she was "not celebrating Australia Day".

"People are a bit worried that I’m at an Australia Day party, I just wanted to say I am not. I am at a friend’s house, we’ve got the kids in the pool. We’re hanging out for a friend’s going-away," she told her followers.

"That is all it is. I wanted to come here and say that so you could hear it directly from me. I am all for abolishing the date, I respect that this is Aboriginal land and that I am not celebrating Australia Day at all."

She then shared an image recognising Aboriginal land on Australia Day.

In 2021, Elly shared a monologue to her followers on the morning of Australia Day, explaining that she was about to head to a 'Change the Date' protest.

"It would just be so good if we could change the date. I would love so much for everyone in Australia to be able to celebrate Australia on a day that isn’t severely traumatic and awful for our Indigenous culture," she said.

"I encourage everyone to get around that. If you feel like you don’t have enough information, have a conversation.

"That’s how my view was changed, because growing up I had celebrated Australia Day, but I just didn’t know any better. It took me to have conversations with Indigenous friends and work colleagues to truly understand the meaning of the day in the Indigenous culture … and it’s not good."

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