ITV viewers were left fuming over Love Island this past week to the point where thousands complained to Ofcom.
Viewers were unhappy with Scott Van-der-Sluis, branding him a “bully” after a heated outburst reduced Sean Stone to tears.
The tension between the two has been brewing since the very start of the series, beginning with Scott taking a swipe at Sean in the premiere episode and sending him to the hideaway.
Love Island receives 1,700 Ofcom complaints
Matters escalated dramatically last week during a game in the villa, when Sean broke down and struggled to speak. The emotional moment followed Scott calling his long-time rival a “snake,” prompting Sean to cry.
Despite Sean’s distress, Scott showed little sympathy and repeatedly told him: “I do not conform to your tears!”
The comment, along with Scott’s apparent lack of sympathy as Sean became visibly distressed, prompted a backlash from viewers.
“Get this bully out of the villa right now,” one user wrote on X.
“Scott is a bully,” another insisted.
“Scott is vile to Sean, he is a bully,” a third remarked.
In the wake of the upsetting scenes, fans also lodged formal complaints with Ofcom. The Sun have reported that the broadcasting watchdog received 1,590 complaints on Tuesday (January 27), the day the confrontation was shown on air.
A further 152 complaints were recorded on Monday (January 26).
ED! has contacted Ofcom for comment.
‘We don’t want to add fuel to the fire’
While in the villa, Sean’s loved ones are running his social media account. His family have since shared a statement on his Instagram following the upsetting scenes.
“Obviously, it’s hard to pass judgement based on clips alone, because as we all know with reality tv, there’s always more going on than what we’re shown. But we know Sean personally, and for him to be reduced to tears because of someone else’s words tells us he must be genuinely upset – and our hearts are breaking for him right now. We really hope he’s okay. It’s hard to watch,” they said.
“We truly believe Sean has grown a lot since his previous Love Island experience, and that he’s been the most authentic version of himself he can be up to this point in the show.”
Addressing the “bully” claims, his loved ones added: “We know the word “bully” has been thrown around a lot in the last 24 hours but these are really strong allegations and we don’t want to add fuel to the fire.”
They concluded: “What we do want is to ask everyone to be kind – to all the contestants, not just Sean – and to remember that reality TV isn’t always a full representation of what’s happening. Once again, thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown Sean. If it’s possible, I’ll personally make sure Sean sees and reads all your messages when he’s out.”
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