Instagram have responded after Love Island contestant Kaz Kamwi was subject to racist abuse this week. When some viewers disagreed with how she handled her love triangle between Tyler Cruickshank and Matthew MacNabb, racists took the opportunity to send her vile abuse on social media.
Kaz’s family quickly released a statement about the abuse on Instagram, urging users to remember the #BeKind movement.
‘We understand that a lot of you love watching the show and that people will have differing opinions,’ they said. ‘However, this does not excuse the vulgar racist abuse we have been receiving on her account. Please always remember to #BeKind.’
Now, the social media giant owned by Facebook has responded, condemning racist users and encouraging others to report any abusive comments they see.
'Racism and hate speech is completely unacceptable both online and offline, and we have clear rules against it on Instagram,' a Facebook company spokesperson told Grazia. 'We understand how distressing this must be for Kaz’s family, and have removed comments as well as an account in relation to this. As DMs are private spaces, we encourage people to report them so we can take action. We’ve also built tools to help protect people, including our Hidden Words feature, which allows you to filter abusive words, phrases or emojis from comments or DMs, so you never have to see them.'
This disturbing narrative exposes a hateful prejudice towards Black people on Love Island. What started as viewers and fans of Kaz respectfully sharing their opinions on her supposedly ‘stringing Matthew along’ quickly snowballed into racists and trolls alike piling onto the 26-year-old islander.
Her Instagram comments became filled with racist abuse, but even where the trolling was not explicitly using racist language, the hate towards her was still clearly guided by racism. Many demanded she be removed from the show, or used the opportunity to talk about how they never liked her in the first place. Some viewers, it seems, were lying in wait for her to do the slightest disagreeable thing in the villa just so they could release their inner hatred for her.
Where white contestants are granted grace for problematic behaviour, Kaz is immediately branded a villain for the slightest thing.
What we’re seeing here is how quickly peoples prejudice is exposed when a Black woman does anything that could be regarded as ‘toxic’ on reality TV. While white contestants on the show have been blatantly problematic, or had their own ‘toxic' arc, not one of them has received this level of abuse in comparison. They’re granted grace and the benefit of the doubt, while Kaz is immediately branded a villain for the slightest thing – after weeks of her only being joyful, hyping up every other islander and dealing with heartbreak after heartbreak extremely gracefully.
You might disagree with Kaz’s actions, but her family should not need to remind people that trolling her and sending racist abuse is unacceptable regardless of how you feel about her behaviour.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of anti-racism charities you can support in the UK to help eradicate racism.
Anti-racism charities in the UK - Grazia
1 of 14Show Racism The Red Card
Provides educational workshops, training sessions, multimedia packages, and a whole host of other resources, all with the purpose of tackling racism in society.
2 of 14Stop Hate UK
A service for victims of racial harassment aiming to end hate crimes in the UK.
3 of 14Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 13 to 30 to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice
4 of 14Prison Reform Trust
Prison Reform Trust works to make the prison system in the UK just, humane and effective.
5 of 14Joint Council For The Welfare Of Immigrants
The JCWI aims to create a world in which immigration law and policy are based on sound evidence, promote the rule of law and are underpinned by respect for human rights and human dignity
6 of 14Access UK
Helps reduce BME youth unemployment, provide employment and training solutions for youth offenders and implement anti-gang initiatives in the community.
7 of 14Charity So White
Tackles institutional racism in the charity sector.
8 of 14Black Thrive
Black Thrive works to reduce the inequality and injustices experienced by Black people in mental health services.
9 of 14The Ubele Initiative
Supports the African diaspora community.
10 of 14Women In Prison
Supports women affected by the criminal justice system and campaigns to end the harm of prison to women, their families and our communities.
11 of 14Race On The Agenda (ROTA)
Race On The Agenda (ROTA) is a social policy research organisation focusing on issues that impact BAME communities.
12 of 14The Equality Trust
Works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic and social inequality.
13 of 14Runnymede
Generates intelligence to challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement.
14 of 14Belly Mujinga Memorial Fund
For the memorial of Belly Mujinga, the railway worker who was spat at before she died of Covid-19.
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The Video Of Love Island's Brad McClelland And Kaz Kamwi Having A 'Chat' Is A Massive Let Down