Love Island__ 2020 star Connor Durman has finally apologised for sending racist text messages to an ex-girlfriend in January. After allegedly calling his ex, Stevie-Leigh Pich, a ‘s--g’ and a ‘s**--**t’ for sleeping with black men and denouncing her actions as ‘rank’ and ‘grim,’ Connor released a statement and video to his Instagram account, stating his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The former coffee bean salesman started by saying that his time in lockdown and the rapid growth of the BLM movement had given him ‘time to reflect on [his] past and comments made during a heated conversation’.
He then went on to apologise for his ‘inappropriate and racist remarks written in the message’ explaining that he ‘completely failed to think about [his] words and ended up saying something hurtful and insensitive when [he] was in an angry and emotional state of mind’.
He also admitted that he ‘still (has) a lot to learn about the BLM movement, culture and history’ and from now on would only be using his ‘influence and social media platforms positively, expressing in line with the peaceful protests that it is time for a permanent change.’
Connor’s video went on to explain that ‘now’s the perfect time to address what [he’d] said’ because of the momentum that the BLM is gaining across the world; following the death of George Floyd.
His apology comes after fellow Love Islander Jordan Waobikeze criticised Connor and other BLM 'bandwagon-jumpers' for posting a black square and doing little else to further the cause; including addressing their previous mistakes.
In an Instagram Live, Jordan said: ‘I don’t like the way he was silent on the topic the whole time, posted the black square and turned the comments off because he knew people would get onto him, and then went silent again for the couple weeks after like he was laying low, trying to fly under the radar.’
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