Love Island, the nation’s most-watched reality TV show, has been at the heart of controversy since the launch due to questions of unrealistic body standards, racial bias and now the possibility of exhibiting abusive relationship behaviours on-screen.
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While ITV2 bosses have made multiple changes since previous series in order to keep the cash cow afloat and protect the mental heath of contestants, it is almost impossible for producers to change the way islanders generally interact with each other in the villa.
An island original couple, Lucie and Joe, have been at the core of public backlash in the past week. It has been reported that Ofcom has received a staggering 302 complaints solely centred on the treatment of Lucie in the villa
Co-Chief Executive of the charity Women’s Aid, Adina Claire, has weighed in on the worrying scenes: “Controlling behaviour is never acceptable, and with Love Island viewers complaining to Ofcom in record numbers about Joe’s possessive behaviour towards Lucie, more people are becoming aware of this and want to challenge it.”
ITV2 bosses have so far avoiding taking any action on the matter. A spokesperson recently told Metro.co.uk, “We will assess these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”
Check out the video to discover the alarm bells within the Lucie and Joe saga!
