Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Love Island contestants Billy Brown and Josh Le Grove have accused the popular reality dating show’s producers of “allowing” bullying to take place.
Both men entered the villa after Casa Amor in early July and have since been dumped from the island. Brown, 23, was voted out of the villa on Wednesday (20 July), while Le Grove, 22, was dumped the week before on Friday (15 July).
The former contestants have appeared on the Secure The Insecure podcast, hosted by Johnny Seifert and spoken out about bullying and misogyny in the villa.
It comes after the hit ITV show was besieged by thousands of complaints to Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, related to claims of misogyny, sexism and bullying among the male contestants.
Asked if either of them had witnessed such behaviour, Brown told Seifert: “I can see why people are saying about the bullying [sic]. I can see why, I can understand.
“To me… Some people in the villa, the way they were acting, yeah, they might be fed up or annoyed or something, but especially to the girls – don’t go and keep hurting that girl constantly, such as Tasha.
“Don’t go and just keep going at her, going at her, going at her. To see that, it’s not nice. I don’t like no one feeling out of place or like they can’t go speak to someone alone.
“Luca and Dami, for instance, they just constantly go for Tasha. They might see it as banter, but when I spoke to Tasha, one night she was crying. I saw her over there by herself and went up to her.”
The construction worker asked 23-year-old Tasha Ghouri how she was “actually doing”, and she responded: “I’m fed up. Everyone’s just going at me. I’m trying to do what’s best for me and no one’s understanding.”
Brown continued: “Everyone should feel like they’re understood or someone’s there. Then it’s just constant, just negative stuff thrown at her, and I didn’t like to see it.”
Le Grove added: “Imagine you’re in year 11 at school and the teacher’s just left the classroom, it felt like that kind of atmosphere.
“I feel like, a producer could have easily stepped in and been like, ‘Listen, this is how it’s coming across’ or ‘How would you be on the outside?’.”
Le Grove said he felt as though Love Island producers would “sit back and happily let something come across a certain way”.
He explained that “some people get carried away” and it would have been better if the crew stepped in to warn the Islanders if certain behaviours were “not coming across very well”.
“They’re not understanding that these guys are going to come out to potentially a lot of hate,” he added. “It could have gotten stopped a while ago, because you don’t know how they’re going to act. You don’t know how it’s going to affect them when they come out and see comments.
“That should be something that they could have stepped in and tried to stop it before it got to the point it’s at.”
Fans have accused Islanders Luca Bish and Dami Hope of bullying Ghouri on the show, particularly during a challenge called Snog, Marry, Pie.
The challenge saw Ghouri getting pied the most by the male contestants, with Bish and Hope following their pies up with harsh words.
The Independent has contacted ITV for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments