Love Island hit with over 1,500 Ofcom complaints after Wigan contestant Danny Bibby allowed into villa
Love Island has received more than 1,500 Ofcom complaints after contestant Danny Bibby was allowed onto the dating show last week.
His entry into the villa comes after he was found to have used a racial slur on social media.
The 25-year-old plumber and clothing brand owner, from Wigan, reportedly used offensive language in an Instagram post in 2019, which has since been deleted.
The comment was condemned by thousands of Twitter users, with many tweeting the Love Island account directly and campaigning for his early exit from the show, all before he’d even stepped foot inside the villa that houses this year’s contestants.
It has now been confirmed that broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has received a total of 1,507 complaints relating to the casting of a contestant in the ITV2 show.
Ofcom said it received 1,081 messages about the episode on 15 July, during which Danny was announced as entering the villa, and a subsequent episode on 18 July prompted a further 426 complaints.
Following a statement initially released by his father Richard – which insisted saying there were “no racist intentions to this post” and that it had been a “mistake” on his son’s part – Danny apologised last week in a statement issued via ITV.
The statement read: “I’d like to take the time to apologise to anyone that may have taken offence to my inappropriate remark [as] I never meant anything malicious by this comment at all.
“I am not a racist person and it’s unacceptable language and ignorant.
“I meant no offence and feel like I have really learnt from my mistakes and will never use that word again.
“I am a kind loving person and hopefully you get to see that in the show.”
Danny left the ITV reality show on last night’s episode during a double elimination, alongside fellow contestant AJ Bunker.
Featured Image – ITV