LOVE Island has been hit with hundreds of complaints over Jess White’s treatment of Harriett Blackmore.
Viewers were left furious last week as they felt the retail manager was ‘bullying’ the dancer – who ended up getting the boot in a cruel twist.
Over three consecutive days Ofcom were inundated – they received 210 on one day, 185 the next day and then a further 80.
The broadcasting regulator confirmed the complaints are regarding Jess’ treatment towards Harriett.
Jess and Harriett were at loggerheads more than once in the villa – after both falling for footballer Ronnie Vint.
But things reached boiling point last week during a game of Never Have I Ever.
After being called “two-faced” by Ciaran, Harriett hit back at the 21-year-old for being “immature”.
But in a bitter blow, Ciaran replied: “At least I haven’t been second choice for like three times though.”
Jess burst out laughing – while Harriett burst into tears and stormed off.
The scenes left fans very uncomfortable and at the time one person remarked: “Get Jess out of that villa immediately! She’s a bitter bully. Sore loser. Why are they bullying Harriett?”
Another added: “Jess is proper disgusting and is just a bully full stop, I have never seen a girl on this show who just reeks of hatred.”
Just days later Harriett ended up getting sent home alongside Ronnie.
In a final twist of the knife, it was Jess who got the text message that gave Ronnie and Harriett their marching orders.
She was quizzed about Jess by Maya Jama and admitted they would never be friends.
She said: “For me, with Jess, I feel like I’ve always tried to be a bigger person,” Harriett told Maya.
Love Island has been hit with thousands of complaints over the years - here are the most moaned about moments
Dani’s tears: in 2018, Ofcom received 2,644 complaints when Dani Dyer was left in floods of tears over Jack Fincham during the Casa Amor. Viewers felt the show had been manipulated to make it appear Jack was going to cheat, when in fact he wasn’t. And poor Dani didn’t learn the truth for days.
Maura fury: Although she later won over the public, Maura Higgins got off to a bad start in 2019. After arriving as a bombshell, she made a beeline for Tommy Fury – who was coupled up with Molly-Mae Hague – and tried to kiss him while straddling him on a daybed. 709 people accused her actions as ‘sexual harassment’.
Faye explodes: The 2021 series of Love Island remains the most complained series about yet. 4,330 complaints were made to Ofcom after Faye Winter received a postcard from Casa Amor, which appeared to show her fella Teddy Soares kissing a bombshell. But a whopping 24,763 complaints flooded in when Faye came face-to-face with Teddy again. Faye’s shocking outburst even sparked a reaction from male domestic abuse charity, ManKind Inititive, who branded her ‘unacceptable’.
Bish bash: The following year, the fallout from Movie Night sparked 3,617 Ofcom complaints. Fans of the show were horrified by Luca Bish’s harsh reaction when Gemma Owen was shown speaking to bombshell Billy Brown.
Muggy Mitch: Almost 1,000 Ofcom complaints flooded in last year in the final week of Love Island. Viewers were unimpressed with Mitchel Taylor’s treatment of Abi Moores and felt he was ‘targeting’ her. Fans even urged Love Island bosses to check on Abi’s ‘mental health and welfare’.
“You know, the comments that she was making that I’ve seen now, I had no idea about, and maybe I would’ve taken a different approach if i knew what she was saying behind my back.”
“But at the end of the day, I did have to put my foot down at one point because it was just getting too much,” she added.
“But I do wish her all the best, there’s no bad blood.”
When asked by Maya if there’s a chance of forming a friendship once Jess’s time on the show is over, Harriett laughed: “I think I’ll leave that one in the villa.”
