Beau McCormick-Roddis
Over an eight-week long, hot summer, the nation watched with bated breath through terrace antics and the most dramatic Casa Amor recoupling in Love Island history in the hope that, at the end of it all, true love and romance would conquer all. I, like so many others, tuned in every night to enjoy this year’s series and I have to say, it did not disappoint.
Many have dubbed it one of the shows best and I am inclined to agree. However, whilst a record 3.4 million viewers tuned in to ITV2 on the 31st of July to watch our Turkish delight and her Italian stallion romp home with first place, the show also received around 5,000 complaints during its eight-week stint on air. It was these comments that sparked a string of reports that ITV would be sitting down and ‘reviewing’ the reality series.
The rundown
From relationship age gaps, and double standards, to misogynistic behaviour and bullying. The show, and its spin-off Aftersun, received a whole host of complaints this year. However, it was the troubling behaviour of Luca Bish, who in a couple with Gemma Owens finished second place, that caused major concern. Amongst his antics on the show, the Mad Movies challenge sparked the most cause concern amongst viewers with over 3,000 Ofcom complaints alleging misogynistic behaviour and bullying logged within a week.
The show was even condemned by Women’s Aid over the ‘controlling behaviour’ exhibited by Luca after accusing partner Gemma of ‘flirting’ with co-star Billy Brown, despite her insisting that she wasn’t. Amid the backlash, Luca’s Twitter account was either deleted or removed and his family took to Instagram stories to convey that they did not condone his behaviour towards Gemma. They even went as far as to insist that Luca himself would feel ‘embarrassed’ by his actions once he watched the footage back.
Misogyny and manipulation
This was not an isolated incident. Throughout the show, there has been a notable divide between the behaviour of male contestants and that of their female counterparts. Amongst the most evident was the contrast in the behaviour of Indiyah Polack and her partner Dami Hope during their brief stints in Casa Amor. In the end, both chose to recouple, each bringing a new partner into the villa in order to explore new romantic connections. However, there were some clear differences in how the pair handled and were judged by their Love Island peers during and after the parallel situations.
Whilst Indiyah only entertained Deji in conversation it was insinuated during the reunion that her coupling with him was purely tactical and her result of lack of trust in Dami to remain faithful. Dami was unfaithful, engaging in three-way kisses and bedtime cuddles. In the midst of this. Dami was egging on co-star Jacques O’Neill to do the same. Jacques O’Neill would later leave the show citing mental health. Regardless, Dami was never branded by his peers as “tactical” or to be perceived as playing a game despite his actions being more severe in betrayal than Indiyah’s.
“It demonstrates to a generation of young men that they can act in this manner and get away with it.”
The behaviour during Casa Amor was perhaps amongst the most troubling when put in the context of its broader implications. For a younger generation of viewers watching the show this season and seeing little to none of the male cast members stay loyal during Casa Amor, whilst the majority of their female counterparts did, could result in unhealthy expectations of romantic relationships. It demonstrates to a generation of young men that they behave this way and get away with it. It showed young women that this is the type of behaviour they should expect and accept in a relationship. All in all, it conveys an unhealthy message about what is considered the ‘norm’ within a modern-day relationship.
Bullying and double standards
Dami came under further fire following the Casa Amor reunion when he and Luca appeared to launch a series of attacks against Tasha Ghouri. The first incident occurred after the dramatic dumping, where Tasha and partner Andrew Le Page found themselves in the bottom three couples moments after announcing they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Luca and Dami also continued to make digs and single out Tasha and her relationship, namely during the Suck and Bow challenge, then again in the Snog, Marry, Pie Challenge where both Dami and Luca served Tasha a pie to the face. Indeed, since leaving the villa, co-stars Billy Brown, who coupled up with Tasha at Casa Amor, and Josh Le Grove have spoken out against this behaviour, each adding that producers should have stepped in to stop it.
It’s worrying that the supervillain of series four, Adam Collard, was arguably the least problematic male cast member. So, what can the show change about its approach to this sort of behaviour to make sure that it is avoided in future series? Personally, I would love to see more thorough pre-villa mental health checks. Although there is no accounting for how being away from family, friends and social media, surrounded by strangers whose personalities may not be completely compatible with your own will affect everyone that goes on the show. Although, it would be a good idea to identify who could be most vulnerable going in to the villa, to highlight and provide adequate care for those who might need extra support both during and after the show.
Part of a wider issue
However, I wonder if the real issue lies not with the show, but with the viewers and the ‘societal norms,’ they perpetuate. I ask, would the show still be as popular and would it still have received record numbers of viewers tuning in for the final without this level of drama, ultimately caused by behaviour that is so quick to be condemned by viewers on social media? Both those taking to social media to defend or condemn the on-screen behaviour of this year’s cast watched the show. Otherwise, how could they have known what was being shown well enough to comment? Nowhere did I see a tweet that condemned the behaviour on display and called for a viewers boycott.
“Whilst we cannot condone bullying behaviour, we cannot also perpetuate it by targeting bullies with a slew of online hate.”
After all, isn’t that exact behaviour the reason why they tuned in? I have struggled to reconcile my shock at the behaviour on screen with the fact that it is part of the reason that I chose to religiously watch every episode. Is it not true that the same people who took to their keyboard to write a complaint about bullying behaviour, would also be the first to brand the show as ‘boring’ in its absence?
It is all very well taking to social media to support Tasha regarding allegations of bullying. Nonetheless, doing this by hurling abuse in the direction of Dami and Luca, we achieve nothing. #BeKind applies to everyone. It is not simply reserved for certain kinds of people or those perceived as victims.
The social media storm of Love Island reminds me of series three contestant Mike Thalassitis, who was branded ‘Muggy Mike’ during the show due to his perceived behaviour as a ‘player’. Mike tragically took his own life in March 2019. Co-star Montana Brown later said that it was this “misunderstanding” of Mike’s character that led people to believe he had no feelings. This amongst many other factors within his personal life ultimately played a part in his decision to end his life. Whilst we cannot condone bullying behaviour, we cannot also perpetuate it by targeting bullies with a slew of online hate. That in itself is bullying.
Change in the air?
That being said, I think, in the face of rather slim odds that the show will be axed in its entirety, we should turn the mirror inwards and focus on what we can do as a society to address this kind of behaviour and not become so consumed by it that we end up perpetuating it ourselves. Undoubtedly, Love Island has a duty of care to protect the mental health of all those who participate in the show, but ultimately, isn’t our treatment of them online both during and after the show one of the biggest factors in determining how they will be affected by the experience that is Love Island? So, let’s educate. Let’s be understanding. Let’s build each other up, rather than tearing each other down.
Featured image courtesy of Jordan McQueen on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
