Love Island Update: That’s the Reason?

When I ended my article on Friday about Love Island, I said that there was a chance that we may never know the real reason why Sherif Lanre was kicked out of the Love Island villa. Turns out, we only had to wait two days because over the weekend, Sherif sat down for an exclusive interview with The Sun to clear up the broken rule that forced him to leave the show. 

According to the report, Sherif was kicked off because while playfighting with Molly Mae, he accidentally kicked her in the crotch. When she seemed fine afterward, he joked with Tommy and said, “That’s a c-nt punt.”

A quick note about “c-nt punt”. For those who aren’t familiar (I wasn’t until reading this article), the word “c-nt” doesn’t carry the same weight in the UK as it does over here in North America, and it’s used a lot more liberally there. But “c-nt punt” also carries connotations of domestic violence, like “putting women in their place”, and in context usually means domination through violence (from both men and women). 

Sherif claims that the producers “pored over the footage”, woke him up the next morning, brought him to the beach hut, and asked him to explain himself. They then told him that he had broken the rules and that he would have to leave, a decision they claimed came from “high up”. He also says that the producers told him not to talk to anyone about it to protect his reputation, and they even drafted a statement for him to sign. Molly Mae supposedly didn’t lodge a complaint, but it also doesn’t seem like the producers took time to ask her about what happened.

That’s what’s so puzzling about this exclusive. Sherif is making it sound like his mistakes should have been met with a stern warning instead of such a swift exit, especially one accompanied by so much mystery and secrecy. With gossip like this, it’s always two sides of the story and we must work to find out what actually went on. 

What’s ITV’s explanation for their tight lipped approach? In a statement, ITV said, “We have a duty of care towards all of the islanders and as such we would not make public the details of the breach of code.” As I mentioned in my previous article, I’m suspicious only because it seems obvious to me that letting rumours fly is probably much more damaging to reputation and health than a controlled release of the information (or at least something to quell the rumours). Is ITV incompetent or are we just being fed platitudes from them? 

That’s the thing about Sherif’s exclusive with The Sun. He’s controlling the story and presenting a certain spin on it. Here’s a great example. When Sherif describes his kick, says “My toes crashed into her groin”, which is a classic use of the passive voice to distance himself from the action. He didn’t kick her in the crotch! His toes smashed into it all by themselves! It’s not that I don’t believe Sherif, nor that I think his removal was justified. Instead, I’m just pointing out that we only have one perspective, and that through that perspective, ITV’s whole decision and subsequent management of it seems messy, poorly planned, and biased. 

Sherif believes he was the victim of unconscious racism and double standards. He claims to have heard another cast member say the n-word while rapping songs (a point refuted by ITV), and others have pointed out that “c-nt” was used by Ellie Brown on Series 4 without any repercussion (in fact it was aired). If Sherif’s actions are the threshold for the show, many have called for Maura’s expulsion from the villa after she kissed Tommy despite his repeated attempts to stop her. As Sherif pointed out, he was the only black man in the villa, and was kicked out after only 10 days. 

We only have part of the puzzle right now, so there might be additional context and background to Sherif’s departure not yet disclosed by ITV and Sherif. Still, let’s not forget ITV’s initial response to what happened. It seemed like they were covering up something BIG. Covering up an islander was misogynist? Or covering up the fact that they kicked out a contestant because of racist double standards?