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The Bachelor host Osher ‘really hurt’ by shirtless photos

Osher Gunsberg described the article and photos as "nothing short of bullying".

Osher Gunsberg described the article and photos as "nothing short of bullying". Photo: Getty

The Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg has revealed his feelings were “really hurt” when a slew of shirtless photos taken without his knowledge were published online.

Fans of the television and radio host leapt to his defence when news website Daily Mail Australia shared the unflattering images under the headline, ‘Osher Gunsberg shows off his Bali belly’.

On Tuesday, Gunsberg told his Hit 105 radio co-hosts the photos, taken while he was filming The Bachelor finale in Bali, were “nothing short of bullying”.

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Gunsberg, 42, said he first learned about the article in a text message from blogger Mia Freedman that read: “Oh I see you’ve been body shamed, welcome to what it feels like to be a woman everyday.”

Gunsberg argued it was unfair for him to be criticised about his body given he had never used it as part of his job.

“I’ve been on television since 1999,” Gunsberg said.

“Never once have I used my physique as currency. If anything, I’ve used my hair, maybe my smile, but never have I gone, ‘Here’s my mad rig, pay me for my mad rig’.

“If anything I’ve been really open about the struggles that I have had with my mental health and with weight loss.”

Gunsberg has spoken about his struggle with anxiety and depression and revealed this year that he joined the Weight Watchers program at the age of eight.

Gunsberg in his Australian Idol days, when he was better known as Andrew G. Photo: Getty

Gunsberg in his Australian Idol days, when he was better known as Andrew G. Photo: Getty

“This article, I’ve got to say, is nothing short of bullying,” he continued.

“Say for example at work right, if we took photos of one of our colleagues when he or she was on holiday trying to squeeze into a wetsuit and we put it on the noticeboard in the kitchen, we’d be fired, there’s no question.”

When a co-host asked whether Gunsberg had a right to complain given his job in the public eye had opened him up to scrutiny, Gunsberg responded: “My job is not to be the hot bloke.”

“There’s a reason I never sang on Idol, there’s a reason I’m not taking my shirt off on The Bachelor. I’m not that guy. I’ve never been paid to be that guy.

“It’s mean and it really hurt my feelings, it really sucks,” Gunberg said, adding that the “glint of glee” in the photographer’s eye after capturing the shots reminded him of the bullies at school.

“I was 12 years old again,” Gunsberg concluded.

Social media users echoed Gunsberg’s sentiments, accusing the media outlet of “body shaming” and celebrating Gunsberg’s honesty and “awesome dad bod”.

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Gunsberg has been a fixture on Australian television and radio since finding fame as the host of Australian Idol, alongside James Mathison, in 2003.

Back then he was better known as Andrew G, but a particularly difficult period in his personal life prompted the host to change his name in an effort to start fresh.

Gunsberg and his fiancee. Photo: Instagram

Gunsberg and his fiancee. Photo: Instagram

Detailing the change in a blog post, Gunsberg said he was “down in the darkness” after his divorce from wife Noa Tishby.

“From that moment on, I introduced myself as Osher to everyone I met,” Gunsberg wrote.

“With a new name comes an entirely new experience of life, and finally I feel I have ownership of who I am and what people call me. I am not someone else’s nickname. I am my own.”

The popular personality, who has found a large female fanbase as host of the Network Ten dating series, is now engaged to freelance make-up artist and hairstylist Audrey Griffen.

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