Ofcom has announced its decision regarding an investigation into Love Island after it received almost 7,500 complaints about the latest series of the ITV dating show.
The broadcast watchdog revealed it received 7,482 complaints about the popular ITV dating show across its eight-week series, with complaints related to “alleged misogyny, emotional abuse, coercive control and bullying behaviour” by some of the male contestants. Ofcom has now said it will not further pursue the complaints as the “negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light.”
Among the complaints received, the highest volume was 1,497 for an episode which aired on July 19. During the episode, the contestants took part in a Snog, Marry, Pie challenge where they revealed who they would kiss, marry or hit in the face with a cream pie.
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Dancer and model Tasha Ghouri was left in tears over comments Dami Hope and Luca Bish made during the challenge before delivering a pie to her face. Ofcom said that the complaints for the episode from viewers had been about “alleged bullying among the contestants, and raised ongoing concerns about behaviour from the male contestants that they considered to be misogynistic”.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We carefully assessed complaints about this series on a range of issues including alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour. We recognise that emotionally charged or confrontational scenes can upset some viewers.
“But, in our view, negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light. Viewers saw other islanders condemning the behaviour and offering advice and support, as well as scenes where apologies were made.
“We also took into account that the format of this reality show is well established and viewers would expect to see the highs and lows as couples’ relationships are tested.”
Last month, ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment Kevin Lygo said the broadcaster planned to “sit down and review” the popular dating series. He said: “To get five million people to watch a show every night at 9 o’clock is extraordinary in the modern era, so something is being done right.
“But you are right, we must always look to improve and work on what we have done. But we are very happy with the way it has gone so far.”
The latest series of Love Island ended on August 1 with Turkish actress Ekin-Su Culculoglu, 28, and Italian business owner Davide Sanclimenti, 27, crowned the winning couple. ITV recently announced there will be two series of the show in 2023 – a winter series in South Africa and a summer series in Majorca.
Laura Whitmore took to Instagram last week to announce she will not be returning as host after finding “certain elements of the show very difficult,” including travelling for the show and conflicting work commitments. Several TV stars are reportedly in the running to replace her, with fans calling for Emily Atack, Maya Jama or Aj Odudu to front the next series.
ITV has been contacted for comment.
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