Featured Image Credit: ITV
Topics: TV And Film, Love Island
Lucy Devine
ITV has responded to fans criticising Love Island for failing to offer subtitles, despite the show having its first ever deaf contestant this year.
On Monday (6 June), Love Island returned to our screens introducing 11 new singles to the Majorcan villa. One of the new contestants, Tasha Ghouri, was born completely deaf and has a cochlear implant in her right ear.
Towards the end of the first episode, Tasha, 23, gathered her fellow islanders around the fire pit to tell them.
You can watch the video below:
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While Tasha - a dancer and model from north Yorkshire - was praised for raising awareness, ITV has been criticised for failing to offer subtitles on the show.
One person wrote on Twitter: "Some irony of the first Deaf contestant on #LoveIsland being celebrated but @itvhub
has no subtitles on the live show."
While another said: "They got a deaf person in and yet all their series STILL haven’t got subtitles and I’m betting this series won’t have subtitles as well… what a way to go! If you want deaf people to enjoy it. PUT THE SUBTITLES ON GODDAMNIT!"
And a third added: "So love island has its first deaf contestant but no subtitles on demand."
And a fourth said: "Imagine #LoveIsland having their first deaf contestant but still not having subtitles accessible when watching live on ITVHub."
In response to one of the tweets, ITV said: “We're sorry for the disappointment. We're working on subtitle offering including on the live streams so watch this space!”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson told Metro: "All Love Island programmes will carry subtitles on ITV2 and for catch-up on the ITV Hub."
Tyla has also reached out to ITV for comment.
Tasha told her fellow islanders during Monday's episode: "I was born completely deaf, and I wear a cochlear implant in my right ear.
"It's just something cool I've got about myself, it doesn't define me it's just a part of who I am. I call it my superpower."
And viewers at home were quick to praise Tasha for raising awareness, with one person writing: "Tasha getting everyone together to tell them she was born deaf is so relatable and it is so DAUNTING having to explain a disability to new people let alone doing it knowing it’s going to be on national TV. Queen behaviour."
Love Island continues on Tuesday 7 June at 9pm on ITV2.