90 Day Fiance: Mike Berk Faces Backlash For Hateful Instagram Posts
Though some 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days season 5 viewers thought that Mike Berk was one of the only cast members who appeared genuinely kind this season, 90 Day Fiancé fans just uncovered offensive social media posts that Mike shared in the past. Mike started the season as a quick fan-favorite cast member, as many viewers worried that his partner, Ximena Morales Cuellar, was taking advantage of him. However, Ximena has since picked up more support for her brash honesty, while Mike has been slammed by viewers for his resurfaced past posts.
New Yorker Mike has his heart set on marrying Ximena, a single mother who is a decade younger than him and made it bluntly clear that she isn’t attracted to him. Despite Ximena’s resistance towards being with Mike, she did accept his marriage proposal after he won over her kids. However, she appears to have since regretted her decision. Ximena told Mike that if he pays for her breast augmentation surgery, she will marry him. Though many viewers are siding with Ximena for being honest about her feelings, other viewers have been defending a seemingly clueless Mike. However, viewers aren’t happy about unearthed posts Mike shared on Instagram.
Instagram account @fraudedmedia shared screenshots from Mike’s personal Instagram account, @_mikeyb86_. Though Mike now uses his account @mikeyb90day, he last used his original account in November 2021. The controversial posts shared by Frauded Media are currently still on Mike’s Instagram account and include a meme that he shared in 2013 that reads, “The government is shut down and ****** are making jokes... til they try to swipe they foodstamp card and Dora the Explorer pops out saying swiper no swiping!" Mike also included the hashtags “#obamacantrun****," "#obamagobackandbepresidentinkenya" and "#workliketherestofus.” A different meme Mike shared from earlier in 2013 reads, “I blew a ****** means something totally different to a mechanic.” Since Mike had previously earned the support of many franchise fans, viewers were largely disappointed to see he still had the offensive posts on his Instagram account after Reddit user Tuff_Wizardess shared the Instagram posts, and many viewers became aware of their presence online. Warning: fans will find offensive language when scrolling through the following screenshots.
“I’m disappointed in him. I thought he was better than this but I was so wrong. Now I don’t even feel bad for him,” the original Reddit user wrote. Other commenters expressed a mix of disappointment, though not all viewers were surprised that yet another Before The 90 Days cast member was being exposed for offensive posts. “Not shocking at all. Surprised it didn’t come out sooner honestly,” one top commenter wrote. Many users voiced that they were now over seeing Mike and Ximena’s plot line. “Maybe he wants to sabotage his reality show career,” another commenter observed. Multiple fans echoed their frustration that Mike, who appears eager to gain online fame, didn’t delete his old social media posts prior to appearing on the show. "Let’s be clear. The earlier seasons where it was about the love, none of them had any of these posts on their account," another fan wrote before slamming TLC for their recent casting choices.
Though Mike is now under fire from Before The 90 Days fans, Russian woman Alina Kozhevnikova was already fired by TLC after her past offensive posts were uncovered. Viewers were furious about Alina's multiple usages of the N-word among other insensitive posts, which led to TLC hastily finishing her story with Caleb Greenwood. However, it's unlikely that Mike will be fired by TLC given how late it is in the season. Mike and Ximena have been one of the most heavily featured couples this season, as their dramatic romance has kept viewers guessing if they'll walk down the aisle. Though previews for new episodes of 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days show that there is more drama to come for Mike and Ximena, viewers will have to stay tuned to see if TLC responds to Mike's unearthed posts and cuts his franchise run short.
90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on TLC.
Sources: @fraudedmedia/Instagram, @_mikeyb86_/Instagram, @mikeyb90day/Instagram, Tuff_Wizardess/Reddit