Love Island received more than 5,000 complaints from Ofcom during this year’s series, with viewers sharing their concerns about “misogynistic behavior and harassment”.
Most recently, the UK’s media regulator confirmed to MailOnline that the regulator had received 1,509 complaints on July 19, with the majority of them being about alleged misogynistic behavior by male islanders towards the female cast.
The complaints – relating to the Snog, Marry, Pie challenge and its aftermath – have been registered, but it is not yet clear whether Ofcom will investigate.
Criticism: Love Island received more than 5,000 complaints from Ofcom during this year’s series, with viewers sharing their concerns about “misogynistic behavior and bullying”.
Love Island was previously rocked by 2,648 complaints after explosive episodes of Movie Night, while 427 fans also complained about the July 17 episode of Aftersun when Laura Whitmore and the panelists speculated about what happened between Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, 27, and George Tasker, 23, in the bedroom.
And in the first four weeks of the show, Love Island was hit by 781 complaints over concerns about bullying, age-gap romances and contestants’ mental health.
Women’s Aid has already said it is in discussions with the program about some of the behavior shown by the men.
The record for the most Love Island complaints lodged with Ofcom was in August 2021, when the regulator received 24,763 complaints from Ofcom about Faye Winter’s censorship-filled feud with Teddy Soares.
And with Ofcom recently receiving 1,500 Ofcom complaints, MailOnline looks back at the moments that have sparked concern among viewers.
Complaints: Love Island was previously rocked by 2,648 complaints after explosive movie night episodes
1,509 COMPLAINTS FOR SNOG, MARRY, PIE CHALLENGE
The most recent moment in the 2022 series of Love Island to draw complaints from Ofcom was the Snog, Marry Pie challenge, which aired on July 19.
Islanders were tasked with selecting someone to hook up with and “marry” by putting a ring on someone’s finger and throwing a custard pie in their face last week.
The challenge appears on the show every year, and while it’s supposed to be playful in tone, the islanders have to give a reason why they’re selecting someone for each action.
But it seems viewers were upset by how dancer and model Tasha Ghouri, 23, was treated when she was trampled three times; some described the boys’ behavior as “harassment” as Ofcom received 1,509 complaints about “misogyny and harassment”.
Snog, marry, pie: The most recent moment during the 2022 series of Love Island to draw complaints from Ofcom was the Snog, Marry Pie challenge, which aired on July 19.
Tasha, who is dating estate agent Andrew Le Page, 27, had three cakes thrown in her face by businessman Davide Sanclimenti, 26, microbiologist Dami Hope, 26, and fishmonger Luca Bish, 23, after she was accused of not having good intentions towards Andrew, with whom she got together.
The general consensus was that Tasha didn’t like Andrew as much as she did and that she was stringing him along.
Tasha was left in tears after the boys shoved cakes in her face during the supposedly light game, with her fellow islanders later agreeing that things went ‘too far’.
Davide, who is in a relationship with actress Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, 27, said his reasons for doing so were because she called him and his partner the most fake couple.
Also: Billy Brown’s sister was forced to defend him on social media after he was criticized for his treatment of Danica Taylor during the challenge.
Dami, along with Indiyah Polack, 23, confessed she soured on Tasha because she usually “gets away with a lot” after openly criticizing her in the villa.
And Luca, along with 19-year-old Gemma Owen, told her: “I could give you a list, [of reasons] but I’ll let it go for today. It’s just a game.’
As well as fans using the word ‘harassment’, Love Island alum Amber Gill wrote on social media: ‘God I hope Tasha is ok these guys are basically stalking her right now.
Gemma’s mother Louise Owen also criticized Luca and Dami’s behavior towards Tasha, saying it was “close to bullying”.
Luca and Dami have come under fire from viewers for the way they have treated Tasha in recent days and members of Luca’s family have now said they have been left “broken” by the horrible comments they have received about him.
Hard: The 23-year-old was slammed by fans of the ITV show who were ‘disgusted’ after he laughed and called the subsequent confrontation ‘mental’ as Danica Taylor expressed her feelings.
Later in the show, both men apologized to Tasha and Brighton fishmonger Luca admitted he was ‘out of line’.
He said: “I actually feel genuinely bad about what I said and I’m sorry.”
Echoing his words, Dami agreed, saying: “I support you and Andrew and obviously we have our opinions on everything that happened.”
He continued, “I told you I thought you’d always get away with everything, so I just thought it would be funny to tell you, ‘You always get away with it, you’re not going to get away with this cake.’
Before adding, “I don’t want it to sound like I’m hooking up with you. I actually want us to be friends.
Tasha hugged both men and they agreed to draw a line under the situation, but fans weren’t convinced the apologies were genuine, believing viewers might have accepted them.
Also, Billy Brown’s sister was forced to defend him on social media after he was criticized by viewers for his treatment of Danica Taylor, during the Snog, Marry, Pie challenge and called the Love Island villa of “crazy toxic place”.
The now-deposed roofer, 23, was slammed by fans of the ITV show who were ‘disgusted’ after he laughed and branded their recent clash ‘mental’ as Danica aired her feelings.
She also received backlash after she upset Danica by ignoring her during the challenge and then dumped the dancer saying they had no “spark.”
Despite being her love interest at the time, Billy refused to kiss or propose to Danica during the challenge.
Speaking out: Gemma Owen’s mum Louise has slammed Luca Bish and Dami Hope’s behavior towards Tasha on Love Island, saying it is ‘close to bullying’.
Instead, the roofing company boss chose to hook Gemma, who he had previously been accused of flirting with, and marry Paige Thorne, 24, calling his actions a “joke “.
Danica was furious, saying, ‘I don’t have this,’ and then whined to the other girls about how she was having so much bad luck in the village.
Later, Billy said, “Just kidding, I’m sick of this shit.”
On top of that, Dami chose to kiss his Casa Amor ex Summer Botwe, 22, to Indiyah’s surprise.
He then tried to marry Indiyah, but she was having none of it and threw the ring off the hill.
On 18 July, Ofcom also received 413 complaints “relating to alleged bullying and misogynistic behavior by some of the male contestants”.
MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for Love Island for comment.
2,648 complaints have been registered for movie night
A staggering 2,648 viewers complained of “misogynistic and controlling” behavior following the Film Night challenge.
The episode sees both the girls and boys watch clips of their partners’ pranks during their time at Casa Amor.
Every year, towards the middle of the series, the girls and boys are separated, and half of the islanders are sent to another town, Casa Amor, where they spend a few days with a completely new group.
This year, the girls were sent to Casa Amor and the boys stayed in the original villa with a new group of girls to see if they stay true to their partners or join someone else.
Drama: Figures released by UK media regulator Ofcom show 2,481 viewers complained about “alleged misogynistic behavior by some of the male contestants” during the July 17 Movie Night episode .
In the end, the girls either returned to the villa with a new partner or chose to stay with who they were originally.
Likewise, the boys decided whether to do the same or not. The episode inevitably causes pain or tension when people stay true to their partners, only to discover they want to join someone else.
The movie night challenge followed after that, causing tension between the couples as their partners found out what they had been up to during their time apart.
In this year’s episode, Luca saw a clip of Gemma allegedly flirting with Billy Brown, 23, in Casa Amor, while Tasha also kissed Billy and made out with him and Andrew got intimate with Coco Lodge, 27, out of anger, after the new chapter. the girls told him that Tasha didn’t mean well to him.
Coco, who Andrew got together with after Casa Amor, later said that Andrew’s behavior made her feel “used” after he took her back to the villa and left her for Tasha.
Figures released by Ofcom showed that just 2,481 viewers complained about “alleged misogynistic behavior by some of the male contestants” during the July 17 episode.
Arguments: Viewers also expressed concern about Luca’s treatment of his love interest Gemma Owen after the movie night at the time the episode aired.
Earlier in the week, 167 viewers complained about the first installment of Movie Night, when footage of Ekin-Su in bed with George was shown during Casa Amor.
Davide called his partner Ekin-Su a liar after the clip was shown, after she claimed “nothing happened”.
Tasha was again a major target during both movie night and the dare game after Luca and Dami repeatedly criticized her behavior during her relationship with Andrew.
After the boys got together and cheered on their Casa Amor antics during movie night, despite the girls’ discomfort, the male islanders were also criticized for their behavior during a game of dares.
Participating in a game of ‘Suck and Blow’, tensions rose as the game saw Andrew come to blows with close friends Luca…