The team behind “Love Island USA” wants viewers to focus on positivity and kindness, rather than the harsh online criticism that often accompanies the show.
“We appreciate the fans, the passion for the series, and the amazing group of Islanders who are sharing their summer with us,” reads a statement posted Tuesday on the show’s X account. “Please just remember they’re real people — so let’s be kind and spread the love!” A similar note was included in the episode.
The statement comes as the show’s most recent season — which has more than 1 billion minutes viewed across its first nine episodes — has picked up steam and caused a stir among viewers and fans. Peacock posted a similar note last season. Specifically, there’s been a lot of talk about the show’s episode that aired Sunday on Peacock that saw fan favorites Jeremiah Brown and Hannah Fields exit the show. Fans weren’t pleased.
“Love Island USA” — a reboot of the original “Love Island,” based in Britain — follows the traditional format of putting hotties in a tropical villa, where they’re filmed for days hooking up, starting relationships and trying to navigate their emotional baggage. “Bombshells” — newer and even sexier single people — enter the show to stir the pot as contestants vie for $100,000 and, hopefully, a long-term romance.
Here’s what you need to know about the recent controversy and why it’s caused such a disruption online. Beware of spoilers!
This weekend, America’s votes left Jeremiah, Jose “Pepe” Garcia-Gonzalez and Austin Shepard as the least-popular boys, and Hannah, Amaya Espinal and Iris Kendall as the least-popular girls. It was up to the safe Islanders to pick which of them would be leaving the villa.
It was quick from there — the girls chose Hannah, and the boys tapped Jeremiah. This was, by many standards, a wild decision. Hannah’s departure left her partner, Pepe, single, and immediately forces Andreina Santos, who was chopping it up with Jeremiah, on the hook to find someone else to date.
Fans on social media were shocked by the decision, given that Hannah and Jeremiah both seemed to be making connections with other castmates — which is ostensibly the point of a show called “Love Island.”
Some fans suspect Hannah was dropped because she had started to build a relationship with Pepe, and the other women on the show saw her as a threat to win but also as someone who was “closed-off” quickly once making connections.
As for the boys, well, Jeremiah wasn’t exactly a favorite in the villa, even though he was one of the original contestants in the season. Fans pointed out that Ace Greene had gripes with Jeremiah for his decision to date Huda Mustafa, Iris and Andreina. Some fans saw Ace’s vote against Jeremiah as a play to win the entire season, according to Deadline.
And who can forget — possibly the most viral moment of the season happened between Nic Vansteenberghe and Huda when Huda revealed she had a child. (Mamacita?) Later Nic became interested in Andreina.
On the most recent episodes — spoiler alert — the girls have entered Casa Amor, where they were met by a group of new men to couple up with, while a group of new Islanders entered the villa to test their relationships with the boys. As of Tuesday, both Nic and another fan favorite, Olandria Carthen, were on the outs. However, it’s likely we’ll see them again.
Some fans think that the producers have rigged the show to favor Huda — a fitness trainer who, despite being criticized by the fan base, has managed to survive on the show, while Hannah and Jeremiah, two favorites, were voted off, and now Olandria and Nic, too. For all of Huda’s faults, which include territorial behavior over Jeremiah during their relationship, she has made for entertaining television and is seen by some as a dark horse to win the season — and maybe in a redemption era of her own.
Other fans just really want Jeremiah back — plus Olandria and Nic. We all know that someone has to go, but typically on the show, those with the best connections endure, and those without a partner are on the chopping block.
Yes. In addition to the statement released Tuesday, the show’s host, Ariana Madix, warned viewers to not be haters on the cast.
“Don’t be contacting people’s families, don’t be doxing people, don’t be going on Islanders’ pages and saying rude things,” she Saturday said on “Aftersun,” a special episode to discuss what’s going on in the villa, after the recent episodes.
“You still have time to delete all that, because the Islanders don’t have their phones, because this is an amazing fun and beautiful show, and we should be thanking each of these Islanders every day for giving us themselves, so be nice. Be nice, or I’ll come find you,” she said.
The warning from the show’s producers about online hatred isn’t unfounded. The British version of “Love Island” has a tragic history. For years, experts have worried that the show has psychological effects on its contestants, as it regularly shows their drama to millions of viewers. Previous contestants have died by suicide, according to the Guardian, after facing online abuse they suffered from critics and viewers.
British media regulators have received thousands of complaints about the series, including an episode where Islanders watched a clip of one contestant telling a woman on the show that he was interested in her — even though he was supposedly with someone else.
“Love Island” has looked to show that it’s considering the mental health of contestants, in both Britain and the United States. In 2021, during the seventh season of the British franchise, contestants received “a proactive aftercare package” and “comprehensive psychological support” to support their mental health, according to the Guardian.
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