
MAFS Star Katie Johnstone’s Friend Defends Her Against Wage Scandal Claims
0
A close friend of Married At First Sight star Katie Johnstone has jumped to her defense over accusations she was engaging in questionable business practices. The controversy erupted after claims surfaced that the reality star’s social enterprise was failing to pay staff properly at her Queensland restaurants.
Katie Johnstone, who runs a social enterprise group of restaurants under the banner EATS (Empowering All Through Support), has recently been under fire following revelations about debts incurred by one of her companies. Documents released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reveal that Wild The Lifestyle Co Pty Ltd, directed by Katie, was placed into liquidation on June 28 last year.
The company reportedly owed nearly half a million dollars, with a significant portion attributed to unpaid superannuation to its employees, according to the Daily Mail. In response to the criticism, Katie’s best friend, Farina Bibi, took to social media and shared a clip to dismiss the allegations. Bibi, who has been close to Katie for over 10 years and whose children work for her at EATS, stated, “I’ve been a close friend of Katie for over 10 years… my kids work for her at EATS.”
She continued, “I want to address some of the rumors floating around about her being a bad boss and her business troubles. You’re all only getting one side of the story.” Bibi, whose candid defense of Katie has resonated with many, further explained that Katie was not permitted to comment publicly on the matter due to her MAFS contract, making her statement an important clearing of the air.
Bibi also shed light on the circumstances that led to the business’s financial issues. “The reason why there were superannuation underpayments is she actually tried super hard to not let staff go during Covid because she was worried about them,” she explained.
“The Katie I know is so kind and caring. She kept on more people than she needed or could afford because that is what the Australian Government’s JobKeeper program was supposed to help with.” She added that a major complication arose when Katie discovered that despite being able to pay her staff with the JobKeeper Covid subsidy, she was still responsible for their superannuation.
“Unfortunately the conditions of the program were not well communicated to employers. Katie lost out big time because she was still responsible for the super payments for all those extra people she had kept on,” Bibi said.
Farina Bibi concluded her defense by highlighting Katie’s fair treatment of employees, “My son is paid well. Australians have a bad habit of kicking people when they are down when we should be supporting them. So get your facts straight.”
On a recent episode of MAFS, Katie described her role by stating, “I am the CEO of a social enterprise group of restaurants which split our profits helping others who are doing it tough and help them with emergency food and housing.”
Despite the collapse of Wild The Lifestyle Co, EATS continues to operate in southeast Queensland. According to the liquidator’s report, the company owed $493,927, with unpaid superannuation accounting for $150,709, while other debts included amounts to the tax office and Mercedes Benz Financial Services.
Katie has maintained that a repayment plan is in place and is determined to clear the outstanding debts, emphasizing the challenges Covid posed to many businesses.