Love Island Hit With 3,500 Ofcom Complaints Over 'Toxic Behaviour'
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Love Island has been hit with over 3,500 Ofcom complaints in the space of just one week, after viewers accused islanders of displaying toxic behaviour.
While Luca Bish and Dami Hope face bullying accusations after leaving fellow islander Tasha Ghouri in tears on multiple occasions, Casa Amor boy Billy Brown is in hot water after 'using' his partner Danica Taylor.
Dami Hope also left fans feeling queasy when he yelled at former partner Summer Botwe for being 'fake' after she opened up about a three-way kiss she shared with him while Indiyah Polack was away.
And Luca sparked concern when he lashed out at Gemma Owen when he saw a clip of Billy flirting with her, despite seeing evidence that she hadn't entertained his advances.
The complaints to Ofcom started to roll in on Sunday 17 July, after the islanders attended Mad Movies night in the villa.
After the episode aired, Love Island received 2,481 complaints from fans, accusing some of the male islanders of misogynistic behaviour.
Billy is using Danica to stay in this villa and wants Gemma to turn her head. I want him out like yesterday #LoveIsland
— 👑F (@orefayo) July 19, 2022
Billy is using Danica to stay in this villa and wants Gemma to turn her head. I want him out like yesterday #LoveIsland
— 👑F (@orefayo) July 19, 2022
Luca is controlling. Gemma is still young so she might think it’s cute but it can manifest into ugly controlling and abusive behaviour #loveisland
— Truthfullyours (@Truthfullyours2) July 17, 2022
Later that night, Love Island's extra show After Sun aired, and received 427 complaints, after fans accused guests of making inappropriate comments. about Ekin-Su Culculoglu.
Viewers were also unimpressed at the treatment of former islander Jacques O'Neill following his emotional departure from the villa for mental health reasons.
The following Monday (18 July), Love Island received an additional 413 complaints relating to alleged bullying and misogynistic behaviour from the boys.
In total, over the course of the week, the reality series faced 3,682 Ofcom complaints from viewers.
Things went from bad to worse on Tuesday (19 July) night when a game of Snog, Marry, Pie took a turn, leaving fans furious at both Dami and Luca.
While both boys have since apologised to Tasha for their behaviour, many are convinced that it was insincere.
In fact, the behaviour of the boys in the villa has been so concerning this season that Women's Aid has confirmed it is in talks with the Love Island team.
A statement from Teresa Parker, head of communications and media relations, read: "At Women’s Aid we are being tagged into a stream of Twitter posts, with viewers of Love Island highlighting the misogyny and controlling behaviour being shown on screen.
"This is clearly more than talking about any individual contestants, and a programme based around the formation of romantic relationships must have guidelines on what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable in those relationships.
"We are talking to ITV, and they have shared with us information on their inclusion training, but what appears to be missing is specific information on abusive relationships and an understanding of controlling behaviour in relationships."
Topics: TV And Film, ITV, Love Island
