Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Tashaghouri/ITV
Topics: Love Island, ITV, TV And Film, UOKM8
Daisy Phillipson
Topics: Love Island, ITV, TV And Film, UOKM8
The dad of Love Island contestant Tasha Ghouri has hit back at the online trolling she's received since appearing on this year's season of the ITV show.
Speaking to The Mirror, Tarek said he is 'sick to the stomach' with some of the vitriol directed at his daughter on social media, especially the comments regarding her disability.
In the first episode, Tasha - who is coupled up with Andrew Le Page - bravely told her fellow contestants that she is deaf and wears a cochlear implant.
While many people praised the 23-year-old model for raising awareness, others have used it as a cruel way to troll her online.
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“It’s just shocking,” Tarek told the outlet. “It’s been some horrific ‘deaf and dumb cow, b****, s***, she’s screwed every guy in the villa' type thing.
“It’s nasty and unnecessary. It makes me stick to the stomach, actually. I don’t know what fuels people to even think like that. They don’t even know them. It’s quite bizarre."
Tarek went on to say that he warned Tasha about the potential for online bullying before she went on the show, to which she replied: "Dad, it’s not the first time I’ve had this."
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Inside of the villa, viewers have also seen Luca Bish and Dami Hope pick on Tasha over and over again, suggesting that she isn't sincere about her relationship with Andrew, which has also taken its toll on her.
Before this year's season began, ITV confirmed it had tightened up its duty of care protocols, including a social media 'safety school' for families of the contestants to deal with trolling.
But this year's flurry of hate-fuelled messages and comments have been so severe that the Islanders' social media admins teamed up to release a joint statement against the online abuse on their Instagram pages.
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It reads: "Love Island is an interactive TV show where opinions, discussions and debate are welcome in equal measure to displays of support, love and kindness.
"Although we have never met, we stand together today united against the hate messages and insults that some viewers seem to think is acceptable to throw at our friends, sons, daughters and family members.
"Your hate has no place on our pages or in society in general. This post is being shared across contestants' social media pages at the same time and love island fan-related pages as a sign of unity and denouncement of hate."
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Love Island continues tonight at 9:00pm on ITV2 and ITVHub.