Former reality TV star Stephen Bear, who’s arguably best known for having won out during the 18th season of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK, was sentenced to jail time going into the weekend, nearly two years after his initial arrest and charges. Bear is now set to spend just short of two years behind bars for posting a highly illicit video with former girlfriend Georgia Harrison, of Love Island fame, onto the fan-subscription platform OnlyFans.
Stephen Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison by a judge in Chelmsford Crown Court who stated that the divisive CBB winner had caused “extensive humiliation and embarrassment” for George Harrison, according to the BBC. He’d previously been found guilty on two charges of disclosing private sexual pictures and film with the intent to cause distress, as well as one charge of voyeurism.
Beyond having to spend 21 months in jail, Bear is also forbidden from contacting Harrison for the next five years, thanks to a restraining order on file. As well, the 33 year old was required to sign the sex offenders registry, and will be lawfully obligated to notify others of his sexual offender status for a ten-year stretch.
Having already been criticized for not showing signs of remorse during the trial process that took place between his May 2021 charges and his sentencing, Stephen Bear reportedly took a selfie after arriving at the courthouse, and sang Chris de Burgh’s “The Lady in Red” to a reporter who was dressed in a red coat. After the sentencing took place, Bear is said to have waved at others as he was being led to the jail cells, telling people to “have a good evening” and to enjoy their weekends.
Georgia Harrison was indeed present for the sentencing, and shared an empowered statement outside the court building, saying:
Today's sentence is a vindication of what I've been put through and sends a clear message that the police and courts take this matter very seriously. I want to let all other victims of this crime know that I stand in solidarity with them and I have absolutely no regrets on waiving my anonymity. I hope this puts anyone off committing this sort of crime and I hope for anyone who has been a victim of it, it gives them some sort of justice.
As mentioned in her statement, Georgia Harrison previously denied the ability to keep her name anonymous during the trial process, with the public nature of the videos in question making anonymity more difficult. The crimes in question took place in August 2020, when she and then-partner Bear engaged in consensual sexual acts in the garden area of his home. They were captured on CCTV footage, with the Only Way is Essex vet being unaware that any kind of filming was taking place. After being told that the video existed, Harrison says she told Bear to keep it to himself and never to share it with anyone else, as it would be detrimental to her.
Though Bear told jurors that he'd deleted the video in the same month it was filmed, Harrison claims she saw the footage was shared on WhatsApp, and later became aware that it had a far wider reach. The footage was also uploaded onto OnlyFans at some point, with Bear having "profited financially," according to prosecutor Jacquline Carey.
After getting slapped with a guilty verdict, Stephen Bear claimed in court that the press' claims against him made it an unfair trial, sharing his belief that it was a "losing battle" for him to fight from the start. Understandably, the judge wasn't swayed by his words. Bear bailed out after the verdict, but now has a required stretch of jail time to commit to.
Georgia Harrison appeared on Good Morning Britain after Bear was found guilty, sharing how the sex video has upended her life for the past two years.
Having first broken into the world of reality TV fame back in 2015 as part of MTV's Ex on the Beach — one of many competition series that Big Brother are known to enjoy — Stephen Bear went on to star in the 2106 season of Celebrity Big Brother, and exhibited all manner of controversial behavior during his time in the house. From cheating on his girlfriend to being regularly aggressive with others to having a coffee-fueled spat with famed TV presenter James Whale. He went on to win the season, despite garnering polarizing reactions from viewers.
Following that win, Bear landed a job co-presenting the short-lived MTV series Just Tattoo of Us (not as memorable as other tattoo-based programming), and sparked a relationship with fellow reality TV star Charlotte Crosby. Which was rather quickly followed by their high-profile break-up, his lackluster autobiography The Bear Necessities, and him being booted from the MTV series. Since then, he was a fixture in MTV's The Challenge: War of the Worlds seasons, and also appeared in the TV special Celebrity Ghost Hunt Live.
While the platform OnlyFans has certainly been a boon for many, given users' the ability to draw in their specific fanbases, it hasn't been able to avoid its share of controversial incidents. In January, a large group of content creators landed in hot water after filming scenes throughout a Travelodge Hotel without permission, while one popular creator lost her amusement park day job after visitors became aware of her NSFW content.
