- Warning: Spoilers ahead for episodes 1-8 of "The Ultimatum: Queer Love."
- Vanessa Papa responded to the backlash she received after the show aired.
"The Ultimatum: Queer Love" star Vanessa Papa says she's had to "stay off" social media after receiving multiple death threats.
In the new Netflix dating series, Papa has tension with several of her castmates over her treatment of her original partner Xander Boger and the fact that she became intimate with her trial marriage partner Rae Cheung-Sutton. Fans on social media reacted negatively, labeling her the "villain" of the series.
Papa tells Insider that she found it hard dealing with "so much online bullying."
"I think I obviously came across as the villain, which is not what I intended nor would prefer," Papa says. "I've had to stay off of social media because I've gotten so many literal death threats. It's really insane. I've never experienced that in my life before, so it's been a hard time. And to see that kind of perpetuated by my castmates on their social media channels, it doesn't feel right."
On TikTok, some of Papa's castmates have begun referring to her as the "Harry Potter" villain "Voldemort," in reference to a comment castmember Lexi Goldberg makes about her during episode two of the series.
Mal Wright, who also appears on the series, tells Insider that she wishes the best for Papa and hopes she has a community to "get through all of this."
Yoly Rojas, who argued with Papa on the series and said on TikTok that "Voldermort" has her blocked on social media, tells Insider that she is not interested in "canceling" Papa and thought her castmate had "some growth" when they spoke while filming the reunion.
However, Rojas adds that she also spoke to Papa at a Pride event after the show and "she still was shady as hell."
"I mean, it was a while ago, but she is still shady," Rojas says. "That's all that TikTok was. It was just like, if anyone's wondering why Voldemort has been blocked, I think it's because of that. But I'm not into everyone talking too much crap about it either."
Insider has reached out reps for Netflix, Cheung-Sutton, and Goldberg for comment.
Papa says she's continued posting on social media but tries not to look at the comments and keeps off the platforms as much as possible.
"For probably the past week, I just haven't even really been on my phone, which is probably a very healthy thing to do just in general," Papa says. "So I've been doing okay, and just lots of support from my friends and family who, you know, reached out to me to remind me like, we know you and we love you, and that's been super important."
Papa says she doesn't understand why fans reacted negatively to her on the show, though she knows she can be "very sarcastic" and often has a "permanent smile" even during sad, awkward situations.
Many fans criticized a moment in episode four when Cheung-Sutton regrets her decision to sleep with Papa, and Papa makes a sarcastic joke instead of comforting her.
"They just think I'm being fake, but it's nothing to do with my emotions at the time. I'm just kind of permanently smiling and I think that was perceived very poorly," Papa says.
The final two episodes of "The Ultimatum: Queer Love" air on Netflix on June 7.