'Too Hot to Handle' star Kelz called out a fellow contestant for using him as a 'prop' in his Black Lives Matter post

• Kelz Dyke called out his former fellow "Too Hot to Handle" contestant David Birtwistle for using him as a "prop" in a post about Black Lives Matter.
• Birtwistle posted a photo of the two of them on Instagram and wrote: "F--- standing on the sidelines. I stand with you, side by side against racism."
• Birtwistle continued: "I'm sorry for what my people did to you in the past. I'm sorry for the mistreatment and inequality that you faced."
• Dyke commented on the post saying he asked Birtwistle to share a video about injustice and racism but was ignored.
• Dyke continued: "DO NOT use me to further your social media gains and to get likes, DO NOT use this movement of black lives matter because it's a trending # to you."
• Dyke posted to his Instagram story saying he was not comfortable being used "as a prop for this post," which Birtwistle has now deleted.

A star of Netflix's "Too Hot to Handle," Kelz Dyke, has called out his costar David Birtwistle for using him as a "prop" in his Instagram post in support of Black Lives Matter.

In a now-deleted post (screenshots of which were obtained by Metro), Birtwistle shared a photo of himself with Dyke in a pool with the caption: "F--- standing on the sidelines. I stand with you, side by side against racism."

Birtwistle continued: "I'm sorry for what my people did to you in the past. I'm sorry for the mistreatment and inequality that you faced. There was no place for it then and no place for it now! This has to stop! What's going on in the states is obscene. The people are done with the systemic racism and injustice at the hands of police brutality."

Birtwistle then discussed George Floyd, whose killing in Minneapolis on May 25 sparked protests around the world, and ended the post by writing: "Big change needs to happen and it has to come from within the system. This is a fork in the road America and the direction you take will either make or break your country."

Dyke, however, commented on the post saying it was disingenuine of Birtwistle.

"Side by side? When I've asked you to share a video speaking out against injustice and racism, you read and ignore that message, but then post a photo with me (without having prior asked for my permission) like some POSTER boy claiming you stand with me?" Dyke wrote.

"I call you and message you to find out why you did this, and you dismissed me by calling me 'petty' pretending not to understand where I am coming from, saying because you've shared @sharrontownsendofficial photo means you are on my side? I don't care about the share."

Dyke continued: "DO NOT use me to further your social media gains and to get likes, DO NOT use this movement of black lives matter because it's a trending # to you."

Dyke's comment then appeared to have been deleted, which Dyke himself called out on his Instagram story. Posting a screenshot of Birtwistle's post, Dyke wrote: "I told @david.Birtwistle I was not comfortable with him using me as a prop for this post and instead of deleting the post, he deleted my comment."

He also wrote: "It's about time we call out the people who want to use us and the black lives matter movement for their own personal gain and celebrity status."

Dyke again asked Birtwistle to remove the post from his Instagram. The post has since been deleted.

Both Birtwistle and Dyke posted black squares to their Instagrams on Blackout Tuesday, while Birtwistle also posted an image with text that said: "I prioritise equality."

The caption began with: "I don't profess to get it. I don't profess to understand. I haven't had to live through it.⁣ But equality should be a constant.⁣ I support equality.⁣ One set of rules for everyone.⁣"

Meanwhile, Dyke has posted to both his page and his Instagram story about Black Lives Matter and community projects and charities he is trying to promote.

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