Love Island 2021 is shaping up to be the most controversial and possibly the most addictive series yet.
But viewers have been complaining in droves about vicious tirades made by the islanders, cruel challenges that have seen them humiliated and hurt, as well as “gaslighting” and racially offensive language used by one contestant on his social media.
An Ofcom boss has now revealed they go have the power to axe programmes if they are seen to be putting participants at harm, after this series became the most-complained about in the show’s history.
Adam Baxter, director of broadcasting standards for the TV watchdog, told the Radio Times: “We have the power in the most serious of cases to fine broadcasters or take away their licence to broadcast.
“We are talking about shows like Love Island that attract a high level of media or social media interest, involve conflict, emotionally challenging situations, or require a person to disclose life-changing or private aspects of their lives.”
The show had created new duty of care guidelines this year, with an on-site therapist accessible to islanders during and after their time on the programme, and some of the cruellest challenges apparently scrapped.
But some viewers have still criticised the behaviour of the islanders and the challenges they are subjected to.
One recently tweeted: “Amazed at this years #LoveIsland commitment to mental health. Engineering situations that gaslight, allowing someone to scream and abuse another, airing footage that leads to death threats, it’d be just as entertaining without these situations”.
Another added: “Mental health issues are gone go through the roof for the contestants of love island this year thanks to the production .. hope the postcard and cinema night made you feel good #loveisland “.
Hurricane Faye
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Love Island viewers complained to Ofcom over Faye Winter’s expletive-ridden rant at Teddy Soares after she watched a clip of him saying he was sexually attracted to one of the new girls in Casa Amor.
Teddy was shown flirting with Clarisse Juliette during old footage from Casa Amor, and telling her that he is “technically single”, while the pair were also seen kissing during a dare and Teddy admitted he was “sexually attracted” to her.
Faye flew into an expletive-laden rage at Teddy after watching the the clip and accused him of lying to her about what happened in Casa Amor, with her fellow islanders looking uncomfortable but mostly staying silent.
Faye then offered to argue with any of the other boys if they tried to talk to her about her actions.
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One viewer tweeted: “My first ever complaint to Ofcom what I just watched was horrendous. Mental health needs to be taken seriously Faye needs help.”
Another added: “What happened on love island last night was totally uncalled for. Especially for the mental health of Teddy. He honestly did not deserve it at all. Justice for teddy.”
“I still can’t get over that they haven’t taken Faye out, she’s bullied and emotionally abused Teddy. She needs to be taken out by producers not ‘evicted’ so she knows what she did wrong. It’s disgusting with the shows past with mental health,” ranted a third.
Ofcom, which has been contacted for comment, will release its figures over the episode next week.
But many viewers even demanded Faye be removed over what they called “abusive” behaviour.
The postcard of nightmares
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How do you think this series has compared to previous years? Have your say in the comment section below.
Faye was not the only one to be burned by the Casa Amor postcard – it also showed Tyler Cruickshank in bed with another girl – which Kaz Kamwi, who he had professed his dedication to, was left heartbroken by.
Liam Reardon could be seen in bed with another girl in the postcard – but when he arrived back to the villa alone, Millie Court was delighted and they sat down together by the fire pit, looking over the moon.
But when it seemed Liam was going to keep very quiet about his flirtations with Lillie Haynes, that left Lillie convinced he was going to pick her over Millie, the producers took action.
Lillie was brought into the villa and asked by host Laura Whitmore how she was feeling, to which she admitted she was “shocked” not to have been picked.
She went on to tell Millie exactly what had gone on between her and a smirking Liam in excruciating detail on a lunch date, leading to Millie breaking things off with Liam – until she recently forgave him.
And in the movie challenge last week, Millie was forced once again to watch Liam’s amorous actions – including a three-way kiss, with her devastated father issuing a statement to say he was “proud” of how strong she had managed to be.
The postcard episode, which aired on 28 July, received a staggering 4,330 Ofcom complaints as some viewers branded it unnecessarily cruel.
Hugo Hammond’s tears and humiliation
PE teacher Hugo Hammond was the show’s first ever visibly disabled contestant, and he made a strong start in the villa.
But he failed to connect with anyone during his time on the island, friend-zoning several of the girls and making vague attempts to flirt with others who were already taken.
But a lot of viewers were devastated for him when he got into a bitter row with Sharon Gaffka and Faye over his dating preferences.
Hugo said he did not like “fakeness” in a woman’s looks or personality, and Faye and Sharon, who have both undergone cosmetic enhancements, took this very personally.
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They both shouted at Hugo over his remarks and demanded he apologise, with a confused Hugo bursting into tears while Faye professed not to care.
Just weeks later, Hugo was humiliated during the Line of Booty challenge where he was the only boy not kissed and taken into the makeshift prison by one of the girls.
Amongst the many tweets in sympathy for Hugo was one that read: “my heart when no one picked Hugo in the challenge … you have to be heartless to be that last girl and walk right past him, u don’t have to be in love with the man but it’s just cruel to leave him stood there not included :(“.
But by the time Hugo was dumped from the villa, public opinion had largely changed – with viewers instead accusing him of not giving any girls a chance.
Danny Bibby’s ‘racism’ and ‘gaslighting’
Just hours after Danny Bibby entered the villa as a bombshell, it emerged he had used the N word in an Instagram comment to a friend, two years prior.
Disgusted Love Island fans demanded he be removed from the show, and Danny issued an apology from the villa, which read: “I’d like to take the time to apologise to anyone that may have taken offence to my inappropriate remark.
“I never meant anything malicious by this comment at all. I am not a racist person and it’s unacceptable language and ignorant.
“I meant no offence and feel like I have really learnt from my mistakes and will never use that word again.”
He apologised again when he left the villa and explained he had used the term jokingly and had grown up hearing it in rap songs – leading to a collective eye roll from a lot of social media users who pointed out it was common knowledge that white people should never use the word.
And Danny did little to redeem himself with his behaviour towards Lucinda Strafford, including throwing a pie in her face during a challenge for not giving him enough attention.
His actions were branded “gaslighting” and “controlling” and he was slammed by a women’s charity.
“Last night, we saw the development of Danny and Lucinda’s relationship and became increasingly concerned with his behaviour towards her on screen, including what looked like gaslighting, possessiveness, and manipulation,” said Women’s Aid.
“This is not what a healthy relationship looks like. These are all tactics used by perpetrators of abuse.”
Danny later claimed parts of his conversations with Lucinda had been left on the cutting room floor, making him look worse than he was.
To that, producers responded: “The opinions they have, decisions they make and the relationships formed are completely within the control of the Islanders themselves.
“It is always our intention to produce a show that is a fair and accurate representation of life in the villa.”
Death threats and racist abuse
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The families of this year’s islanders have been forced to speak out after being inundated with cruel abuse from viewers.
Kaz’s family pleaded with viewers to be kind after receiving “vulgar racist abuse” on her account, which they are running while she is in the villa.
In a text post, they said that they accept people will have their opinions, but there is never an excuse to be racist.
“Morning guys, Kaz’s family and friends here,” they told her 421,000 Instagram followers in the post.
“We understand that a lot of you love watching the show and that people will have differing opinions.
“However, this does not excuse the vulgar racist abuse we have been receiving on her account.”
They finished the post with the plea: “Please remember to always #BeKind.”
Meanwhile, when Chloe Burrows first entered the villa, her family also issued a statement about the shocking abuse they had been subjected to, and they even got the police involved.
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Chloe had picked Aaron Francis to couple up with, and unbeknownst to her, that meant his original partner Shannon would be immediately dumped.
The family said they understood the “frustration” around Shannon’s eviction, but Chloe “does not deserve to die” as a result.
Referring to the late Caroline Flack, as well as former contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis, who all took their own lives, Chloe’s family asked: “Have the deaths of Sophie, Mike and Caroline taught us nothing?”
They added: “We all have thick skin but the amount of trolling Chloe has been receiving is absolutely disgusting.
“This morning we woke up to yet another DM encouraging Chloe to kill herself – there have been HUNDREDS.
“We are extremely disappointed and saddened by the threats.
“We appear to have normalised this type of behaviour. This cannot continue. We must stand tall and demand change from online platforms.”
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Love Island bosses also slammed the trolls, saying in a statement: “We want Love Island to be a positive experience for all of our cast and their friends and family members.
“Last night’s episode created strong reactions but some viewers’ posts were wholly unacceptable. We take these matters extremely seriously and will support cast members and their families in reporting such posts.
“We would once again urge all of our viewers to think before posting, and remember that our Islanders are people with feelings.”
Cruel dumpings in record time
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At the very start of the series, stunning model Shannon Singh was picked by Aaron in the first ever coupling.
But days later, when Chloe arrived and took Aaron from her, Shannon was immediately dumped in a villa first, which none of the islanders knew about or expected.
Shannon looked shocked as she read the text on her phone telling her to pack her bags – and some viewers were upset she barely got a chance, after leaving her job behind and isolating for a week.
“That was cruel. Shannon isolating for two weeks only to get one nights sleep in the Villa,” tweeted one viewer.
A reported 80 people complained to Ofcom over the shock dumping – but it would happen again later in the series.
Georgia Townend was also in the villa for 24 hours when she was not picked by any of the boys, with Hugo, who she had spoken to several times, picking his friend, Chloe.
Georgia was left standing alone awkwardly at the fire pit while Hugo made an impassioned speech about Chloe, and many viewers felt desperately sorry for her.
But Georgia joked afterwards that she’d had a lucky escape after watching the boys carry on in Casa Amor.
The final for this year’s Love Island will take place on Monday, 23rd August at 9pm – and it’s likely even more drama will explode in the villa before then.
But with viewing figures taking a hit compared to previous seasons of the show, could it be viewers are getting the ick?
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