Love Island has been the subject of a further 1,500 Ofcom complaints around alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour from some of the male contestants.
The show’s Snog, Marry, Pie challenge attracted a fresh wave of complaints to the TV watchdog, many of which related to comments Luca Bish and Dami Hope made to Tasha Ghouri.
They follow almost 3,000 complaints previously made to Ofcom about “alleged bullying and misogynistic behaviour” in the villa in the wake of a ‘Mad Movies’ challenge.
Tasha was left in tears after the Snog, Marry, Pie task, which saw the Islanders reveal who they would kiss, marry or hit in the face with a cream pie.
According to the Press Association, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said the majority of complaints about the episode on Tuesday 19 July related to alleged misogynistic behaviour from the boys to the girls, including in the aftermath of the challenge.
There were also an additional 146 complaints made about the Sunday 17 July episode, with those relating to the behaviour and treatment of contestants during and in the aftermath of Movie Night.
Some 351 complaints were also made about the episode on Monday 18 July, with the majority being about alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour of contestants.
As is standard procedure, Ofcom will now assess all the complaints before deciding whether or not to launch an official investigation.
Earlier this month, the domestic violence charity Women’s Aid confirmed it had held discussions with show bosses over some of the male Islanders behaviour towards the female contestants.
It said that “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,” it said.
It is not the only controversy this year’s series has found itself at the centre of, however.
An edition of the companion show Aftersun earlier this month also attracted 427 complaints to the TV watchdog, most of them relating to remarks made about contestant Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and the treatment of former Islander Jacques O’Neill during his interview.
ITV later defended its presenter Laura Whitmore, after she came in for criticism from viewers.
Earlier in the series, a kiss between Gemma Owen and Davide Sanclimenti sparked close to 200 complaints, after some were left uncomfortable by the age gap between the two.
Love Island previously broke its own record for Ofcom complaints last year due to an outburst from former contestant Faye Winter towards her partner Teddy Soares following the Mad Movies night.
Love Island continues on Wednesday at 9pm on ITV2.
