Love Island: Why so many Ofcom complaints?
- Published
Ofcom has received 1,215 complaints about Love Island since Friday, largely based on two issues.
Maura Higgins' advances towards Tommy Fury during Friday night's episode have received more than 450 complaints.
Higgins tried to kiss the boxer several times despite Tommy moving his face away from her as he lay on the sofa.
There were also more than 300 complaints about the treatment of Lucie Donlan by some fellow contestants including her partner Joe Garratt.
Some viewers on social media accused Joe of being controlling, after he asked her to spend more time being friendly with the female contestants.
Lucie has been seen crying at various points during the series so far, after struggling over her friendships with some of the female islanders following a couple of spats with Amy Hart.
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Several contestants have commented on how Lucie had been spending more time socially with the male contestants than the females.
Social media users were also quick to point out Maura's apparent predatory behaviour, including former X Factor stars Jake Quickenden and Matt Terry.
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An Ofcom spokeswoman said: "We will assess these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."
Last year there were more than 2,600 complaints about the treatment of Love Island contestant Dani Dyer.
The complaints related to a scene where Dyer was shown a misleading video of her fellow contestant and then boyfriend Jack Fincham, after his ex-girlfriend was brought into the show.
An Ofcom spokesperson said they "understood" Dyer's distress was upsetting for viewers.
But it considered "viewers are likely to expect emotionally charged scenes".
The previous year, the show was criticised in some quarters for featuring some of the contestants smoking.
Last year, the rules were changed so that islanders were still permitted to smoke, but not inside the villa or in the garden.
Instead, a designated smoking area was created nearby.
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- Published17 June 2019
- Published3 June 2019