LOVE Island’s Sherif Lanre has denied rumours he was ejected from Casa Amor over drug use. The internet has been awash with rumours including claims that Sherif took cocaine, broke 24-year-old gym owner Anton Danyluk’s nose during a bust-up and was caught masturbating in the shower. Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Sherif said: “I’ve never […]
LOVE Island’s Sherif Lanre has denied rumours he was ejected from Casa Amor over drug use.
The internet has been awash with rumours including claims that Sherif took cocaine, broke 24-year-old gym owner Anton Danyluk’s nose during a bust-up and was caught masturbating in the shower.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Sherif said: “I’ve never taken cocaine so to say I was kicked out over that is ridiculous. And I did not have a fight with Anton, I always got along with him.”
Sherif was thrown out of the villa for kicking a female contestant in the crotch then joking about his actions using vile and demeaning language, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. The chef says he accidentally booted 19-year-old influencer Mollie-Mae Hague in the groin then told hunk Tommy Fury, ‘That’s a c*** punt.’
Today, in an exclusive interview, Sherif admits he regrets his actions but claims ITV bosses bundled him out of the show for making a ‘mistake’. Sherif, 20, revealed: “I did kick Molly-Mae in the groin area but it was an accident and she 100 per cent was not injured afterwards. She did appear to be in pain at first but then she stood up and seemed fine and we started laughing about it.
“I turned to Tommy and said, ‘That was a c*** punt.’ I realise now that was wrong and I would like to apologise. I’ve never used the word before and I don’t know where it came from. I think I have heard other people saying it and it just popped out.
“But I realise it can be offensive and, as someone that was raised by a strong and loving mother, I want to say that I would never intentionally harm a woman. I know I have been stupid and let myself down but I was not being malicious. This has been blown out of all proportion and I have been made to look like a terrible person when I am not.”
Sherif breaks his silence following feverish speculation about the real reason he was forced out of the villa – making him only the second contestant in the reality show’s history to be given the boot. The previous was Malia Arkian who was shown the door in 2016 for getting into a physical fight with rival Kady McDermott.
The Londoner hits back that Tuesday’s exit from Casa Amor after just ten days followed “banter” in the early hours of the morning as they were getting ready for bed. He said: “Molly-Mae was in the unisex bathroom about to brush her teeth and Tommy and I went in to do the same.
“I gave Molly a jokey look and she turned round and said something like, ‘Do you want some?’ She was just messing around. We started acting out these karate moves. She punched me on the arm in a jokey way. I did not hit her back but at some point I kicked upwards and caught her by accident.
“I did not mean to. I realised too late that she had moved forwards. My toes crashed into her groin and I guess the impact of us both moving in the same direction made it quite hard, but it was not that hard.
“Molly-Mae crouched over in a defensive position and I was worried I had hurt her. I reached out my arm to check she was OK but she stood up and made a face that said, ‘You’re being cheeky.’ I turned to Tommy and said: ‘That’s a c*** punt.’
“We were all laughing and we kept talking afterwards about different things, I can’t remember what. Molly-Mae must have heard it but she didn’t seem offended so there was no need to apologise.
“Tommy and I went downstairs to go to bed after brushing our teeth and Molly-Mae came down two minutes later. We all said good night to each other and went to sleep. There is no way she made a complaint.”
ITV producers in Majorca poured over the taped footage then hauled Sherif out of bed and marched him down to the ‘Beach Hut’ where contestants can speak to the crew. He said: “I think they got me up two hours earlier than everyone else. It might have been lunchtime, about 12.30pm, I am not sure.
“There were two directors in the Beach Hut and they asked me to explain myself. I told them we were just messing around but they said I had broken the code of conduct and it had been decided by someone high up that I had to leave. I was shown a straight red card.
“My mum asked later exactly what part of the code I had breached and they said it related to ‘any other behaviour deemed inappropriate by producers.’ They also read back a transcript of what had happened but it was only my part of the dialogue and it was read in a completely monotone voice, which took everything out of context.
“After saying ‘c*** punt’ I had started talking to Tommy about girl’s bums and I was reciting the J Hus song Common Sense that includes the word ‘bunda,’ a slang word for bum. I was sent home without the chance to pack my bags or say goodbye to the other contestants. I was treated like a criminal over a simple mistake.”
Sherif is now back at his 55-year-old mum Diana Rollanson-William’s house in south London where he is being watched around the clock by ITV security guards and having meetings with psychologists.
He claims producers badgered him into signing a confession and warned him not to talk about it once he left the villa – but this led to him being repeatedly trolled on social media. He added: “This has affected my reputation and I have to set the record straight before it starts affecting my mental health.
“I felt like I was rushed into signing the confession and I wish I had cleared this up straight away. I can put my hand on my heart and swear that I never masturbated in the villa, not even once. I had a nasty cold for the first few days so I spent a lot of time alone in bed, but only because I was feeling so awful. And I did not have a fight with Anton, I always got along with him.”
The talented athlete, who won a scholarship to play rugby at Dulwich College and now works as a sous chef, reveals he was head hunted during his lunch break by two Love Island directors days before filming started.
This was at a time when the show was being slammed for a lack of ethnic diversity – and after a string of reality star suicides including that of former contestant Mike Thalassitis, 26.
Sherif says a zero tolerance policy seems to be in operation and he was reprimanded for calling 21-year-old Geordie Amber Gill “lighty.” He was also pulled aside for using the word ‘rape’ during a conversation with catering company boss Joe Garratt, 22.
He said: “We were warned by producers before we went in the villa that we would have to be careful this year. I probably should not have called Amber ‘lighty’ but she insisted she was not offended.
“I used the word rape while explaining the importance of consent so I got really angry when the producers told me off. I said, ‘Can you give me a list of the words I can use?’ This year was so strict and I don’t’ think I would have been kicked out of the last series of Love Island.
“But what’s annoying is the same rules did not seem to apply to the other contestants. Another time a load of the girls were slapping my bum and no one questioned them. But what would have happened to me if I had slapped a girl’s bum? It is double standards.
“I was the only black man in the villa and I was kicked out after ten days. I think what happened was unconscious racism. There was definitely sexism. There is no way I would have been given that red card if I was a white woman.”
Sherif’s anger is fuelled by the feeling that he was on the verge of finding real love with Kim Kardashian lookalike Anna Vakili, 28, before he was kicked out.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her for the first time because I had been following her on Instagram for about a year and I had always fancied her. I was like, ‘I know you.’ Once we got talking she surprised me, but in a positive way.
“She was very down to earth and we had a real connection. Our relationship was just reaching a key moment when I was kicked out and that was hard to take. I hope to see Anna again but for now they have ruined that romance for me and that is hard to take.”
