Nikaya B. Motley
Staff Writer
“Love Island USA” had many viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the thrilling and drama-filled summer season of the popular show. Thousands of viewers posted on social media, raving about the new season. This year, however, viewers observed a disturbing trend.
According to Variety, the Peacock reality dating series reached a viewership of at least 1.9 billion in July.
But online discussions concerning the treatment of black women in the villa triggered many disturbing comments, and what some say is online bullying.
Many fans of the reality TV drama believed contestants Olandria Carthen and Michelle Bissainthe, also known as “Chelly”, were the victims of targeted racial harassment via social media.
The online discussions centered around viewers who believed that both women of color received harsher criticism than their non-black peers throughout the season.
Social media users frequently used stereotypes like angry, aggressive, or undesirable to characterize black women. However, other Islanders who displayed identical behavior were accepted or even commended.
This issue with the show is not new. The racial bias conversation has come up in prior seasons of “Love Island,” with some believing that black women are more likely to experience online abuse and be subjected to harsher treatment from fans.
When a racist meme went viral on X/Twitter, the situation escalated. The picture put season 7 contestant Huda Mustafa’s face on Derek Chauvin’s body. It also put Carthen’s face on George Floyd’s body. Some viewers deemed the meme as dangerous and demeaning. Others condemned the meme for being both harsh and traumatizing.
Chauvin was the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd in 2020. This incident sparked nationwide protests against police brutality.
Carthen confronted Mustafa about not addressing the ongoing racism during the Season 7 reunion. She disclosed that Mustafa declined her request to condemn it publicly.
Carthen has spoken about the toll the online bullying took on her mental health, revealing that after the meme went viral, she and her family received death threats.
Many fans criticized the show for its silence on the issue and praised Carthen for speaking up.
Brianna Carter, a junior psychology major, was a fan who felt that black women were exploited on the show.
“No one is concerned about black women’s mental health. Imagine you go on a show for fun and come back home to death threats. The network didn’t do anything about it either,” said Carter.
Maya Robinson, a freshman majoring in social work, spoke about the severity of bullying on social media.
“This is more than a dating show; this is real life and how people treat black women. The jokes on Twitter are not funny at all, just disgusting,” said Robinson.
Jordan Brown, a sophomore majoring in political science, called out Peacock for its lack of action.
“The network profits off the racism, drama, and the attention, so of course they are going to stay silent,” said Brown.
The original series aired its first three seasons on the CBS network before being sold to Peacock.
Season 7 of “Love Island” became the most-watched show on Peacock, helping the network claim the top spot for a streaming platform for the first time.
