Love Island has broken records this year, with 3.7 million viewers tuning into the much-loved ITV2 reality show for this week's launch. Drama is a given, and this year has been no different. Within days, a love triangle between Lucie Donlan, Joe Garratt and Tommy Fury ensued, while Anton Danyluk has chased almost every woman in the villa. But while it's safe to say the show makes for entertaining viewing, it's been criticised for underlying racism.
Fans have called out producers for giving contestant Yewande Biala, a black woman from Dublin, barely any airtime, while the star also hasn't met a romantic partner in the villa. The contestants who have received the most male attention since the start of the show are undeniably Lucie Donlan, Molly-Mae Hague and Amy Hart, with each of them in romantic couples. What these women all have in common is their blonde hair, lithe bodies, big boobs and, most notably, white skin.
Fans took to Twitter to demand answers from ITV, with one viewer writing, 'This is actually racism at its highest level...we must fight.'
Another added, 'It’s actually making me mad that Yewande is not getting any airtime. Like this show isn’t enough racist and anti-diverse as it is,' while one viewer lamented the show's focus on new arrival Molly-Mae Hague, tweeting, 'All I’ve seen is unemployed Molly. Have some respect for me please! Where’s Yewande?'
Yewande's circumstances bare an eery resemblance to last year's contestant's Samira Mighty. Samira, 23, struggled to find love for weeks, before eventually coupling up with co-star Frankie Foster and leaving the show to be with him.
Samira herself has waded in on Yewande's situation, admitting that being the 'token black woman' on the show isn't easy.
She told MailOnline, "There was nobody else who looked like me. ITV are desperate to be diverse, but that is coming across in a way that is quite unfortunate for them. Yewande is a token, too, it's obvious what is happening.
"She is the only black girl, and has had little interest from the men, who seem to like blonde white girls with big boobs – or any screen time as a result."
The reality TV star spoke of her disappointment to see Yewande receiving no attention, adding, "When none of the black contestants were chosen last week, I thought how on earth is this happening again? I really thought someone might step forward for Yewande to stop this happening after the backlash with me."
A representative for Love Island told Grazia, "It is not possible to show everything that happens in the villa due to time constraints."