A spokesperson for Ofcom has confirmed the TV watchdog has received thousands of complaints due to “alleged misogynistic behaviour” from this year’s male Love Island contestants.
On Sunday night, the ITV2 reality show aired its annual “Mad Movies” night, which sees the Islanders watching clips of one another from earlier in the series.
As reported by OK! magazine, an Ofcom rep has confirmed that 2,481 complaints were made about the episode due to “alleged misogynistic behaviour by some of the male contestants”
The following night’s instalment sparked an additional 413 complaints, due to “alleged bullying and misogynistic behaviour” from the male Islanders.
As is standard procedure, these complaints will be assessed by the media regulator before it decides whether to take the matter any further.
Earlier this week, the domestic violence charity Women’s Aid confirmed it had held discussions with Love Island bosses due to some of the male Islanders’ treatment of the women in the villa.
The organisation said: “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.”
By way of response, an ITV rep said: “We cannot stress highly enough how seriously we treat the emotional well-being of all of our Islanders.
“Welfare is always our greatest concern, and we have dedicated welfare producers and psychological support on hand at all times, who monitor and regularly speak to all of the Islanders in private and off camera.
“Ahead of this series, contributors on the show were offered video training and guidance covering inclusive language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, behaviours and microaggressions. We are always looking at how we expand and evolve on this training to ensure that all of our Islanders feel they are part of a safe and inclusive environment.”
Meanwhile, Love Island 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.
