Ofcom received over 700 complaints about Maura Higgins’ actions towards Tommy Fury during an episode. Higgins tried to kiss Tommy several times despite him moving his face away from her.
Viewers had complained to ofcom that Higgins “sexually harassed” Tommy Fury. Ofcom have now said the incident on the show didn’t breach TV’s “generally accepted standards”.
A spokeswoman said: “While we recognise that many viewers disapproved of a contestant’s behaviour in this episode, we took into account the context in which it occurred, including the nature of Maura and Tommy’s relationship, before and after.
“The regulator said that all complaints about the episode had been “assessed under generally accepted standards’.”
Tommy and Maura// ITV
Ofcom are still reviewing whether they should investigate the treatment of Lucie Donlan by some fellow contestants including her partner Joe Garratt. Many viewers are/were concerned for Lucie and accuse Joe of being controlling after he asked her not to hang around with the male contestants and spend more time being friendly with the female contestants. Lucie has also been seen upset and crying over many times in the show after struggling with friendships with the female contestants. Ofcom received 300 people complaining about her treatment on the show.
This photo is actually heartbreaking. How are #loveisland just sitting there and letting this happen. Amy has turnt everyone against lucie for no reason and jo really isn’t helping the situation either. I’ve never seen anything like this in all the previous seasons. pic.twitter.com/AoQc6DMbZ3
— 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡🍸 (@bethdainesxox) June 18, 2019
Adina Claire, Co-Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, has released a statement about Joe’s behaviour with Lucie, saying: “Controlling behaviour is never acceptable, and with Love Island viewers complaining to Ofcom in record numbers about Joe’s possessive behaviour towards Lucie, more people are becoming aware of this and want to challenge it.
“Abusive relationships often start off with subtle signs of control, so it’s important that it is recognised at an early stage. Love Island viewers are now very vocal in calling out unhealthy behaviour between couples on the show, and this is a positive development.”
In the last series there was 2,600 complaints about the treatment of former contestant Dani Dyer. The complaints were about how Dyer was shown a misleading video of her then boyfriend Jack after his ex-girlfriend was brought onto the show.
An Ofcom spokesperson said they “understood” Dyer’s distress was upsetting for viewers but it considered “viewers are likely to expect emotionally charged scenes”.
