Love Island UK star George Knight hits back at ex-islander Toni Laites' 'jumpscare' comment

George Knight has finally responded after fellow Love Island alum Toni Laites branded him a 'jumpscare'.

The 28-year-old landed in the villa as a bombshell alongside Yasmin Hadlow for the 13th series earlier this month, but was sadly pulled from the love-hungry line-up after just six days.

Producers told viewers George had exited the show due to 'private reasons', after which his cast-mate Lorenzo read a note to their fellow islanders revealing his sudden departure.

Days later, George told his Instagram followers he'd left the show to be with his family, writing: "Family comes first, always. Leaving the @loveisland Villa was a decision made in order to be with my family. Out of respect for them, I’d prefer not to go into any further detail."

He has since appeared on The Sun's Showbiz Fix podcast, where he was set to shed further light on his departure.

George and Yasmin entered the villa as bombshells (ITV)

During one particularly heartbreaking segment, however, the semi-professional footballer was asked about the response he's received from fans since leaving the show, after which he admitted to finding his reception bittersweet.

Largely, George confessed, due to the cruel trolling he's been subjected to over his appearance.

"For every 15 nice messages, you get one that is just vile. Like it’s horrible," he explained.

George went on to claim that one comment came as a surprise after being made by former islander and Love Island: Aftersun guest panellist, Toni Laites, with whom he'd previously had mutual friends.

As a reminder, Toni - who appeared on the US version of the hit reality TV show last summer - referred to him as a 'jumpscare' when a cast photo was released for the series before George even had a chance to make his debut.

George branded some comments over his appearance as 'vile' (Instagram/@georgewknight)

It came alongside a stream of comparisons noted from trolls between him and the Harry Potter character, Draco Malfoy.

Having caught wind of Toni's remarks since leaving the villa, George admitted to being surprised.

"It’s funny because one of my best friends I’ve known for a long time, his girlfriend is Toni’s manager," he explained. "So I think that was a bit of an awkward one," he said. "I’ve been called so many worse, horrible things on a football pitch and by fans my entire life.

"So getting called a jump scare, I mean, it doesn’t really bother me."

Reflecting on his shock exit, George went on to tell listeners: "They said that my parents had been in touch and that they had some news for me and that they were going to give me a call.

"They said they felt like they weren’t doing their role as a parent if they didn’t let me know. And with what was said, I just felt like it was the right thing to come home."

George left the villa due to family reasons (ITV)

He added: "I was obviously aware (of the health issue), but it was not something that we needed to concern ourselves about in the eight-week period that I could have been away or even longer than that."