Sarah Hyland suffered an awkward moment on Love Island USA when a contestant called her out for making a comment he found “mad disrespectful”.
The actor and presenter has hosted two of the five seasons of America’s answer to the British ITV dating show, Love Island. Season five began on 18 July.
During a recent episode, the former Modern Family star visited the islanders in their Fiji villa to deliver the news of the next contestants to leave the competition.
After Keenan Anunay, 23, was dumped from the island, his partner Kay Kay Gray, 25, made the sudden decision to leave with him.
“You’re too good for me,” Anunay told her, to which she responded: “You’re perfect.”
Hyland, 32, then confirmed whether Gray’s decision to leave was final. “Before you go anywhere, I just, I want to make sure that you are absolutely happy with your decision,” she offered, before Gray stated that she had “no regrets”.
At this point, fellow contestant Mike Stark voiced his objections to Hyland’s questioning.
“Why are you saying it like that?” he asked Hyland.
“Me?” she asked, surprised. Stark confirmed that he was addressing her, continuing: “Yeah, it sounded mad disrespectful.”
Sarah Hyland and Mike Stark on Love Island USA— (Peacock / Twitter)
The other contestants reacted with shocked facial expressions, while others hid their faces in their hands.
Another cast member stepped in to apologise for Stark’s comment, stating that it came out of the “heat of the moment”.
Hyland thanked him for the apology before she added: “Boys will be boys, right?”
The unusual moment has garnered discussion online, as many viewers took issue with Stark speaking to Hyland in that manner.
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“How dare he speak to Haley Dunphy like that,” reads one unimpressed viewer, referring to Hyland’s character on the long-running family comedy.
“My girl Sarah is doing her job, how about y’all stop being disrespectful to her?” stated another user on Twitter/X. “This is her JOB, you guys are there for giggles.”
Another commenter also noted the fact that Hyland was merely doing her job.
“She’s the host of the show which is a game show at the end of the day,” a fan argued. “She [has a] job has to make sure it’s a final decision and not a hasty one. I have never seen a contestant be rude to a tv host before this is crazy to me. Unless it’s normal TV drama in America I don’t know.”
The Independent has reached out to a representative of Sarah Hyland for comment.
Love Island USA is available to UK viewers on ITVX, and on Peacock in the USA.
