Love Island contestant Haris Namani was “devastated” to learn that footage of him in an altercation leaked while he was in the villa
(Picture: ITV2)Love Island star Haris Namani has said he is “devastated” to learn that a video of him being involved in a street fight emerged while he was in the villa.
The 21-year-old has insisted that footage is “not a reflection” of his character following his exit from the ITV2 dating series alongside contestant Anna-May Robey on Wednesday night’s show (January 25).
On Monday (January 23), The Sun published footage showing the TV salesman involved in an altercation that saw him punching a man in the chest, causing the fellow party-goer to lose his balance and fall to the floor.
In the clip, Namani is heard shouting: “I’m not a bully, I’m not a f***ing bully,” while a person behind the camera says: “Go on, Haris.”
In his exit interview, the reality star said he was “devastated” to learn the video had been seen by the wider public and said it was a “heat of the moment” incident.
He said: “I’m devastated that this video has been seen, it’s not a reflection of my character.
“I’m not someone that goes looking for fights and I didn’t want to be in that situation. This was a heat of the moment thing.
“The video doesn’t show everything that happened. Afterwards we met up and we cleared the air; we’ve shaken hands and we get along now. It’s not something that would happen again.”
His comments come after his father Mehedin said the video was two years old and that the two men have since resolved their disagreement.
He told MailOnline: “They’re friends, they shook hands. This was a long time ago – it’s nothing. He’s not a bad boy, he’s got a good record. He’s been brought up in the right way.”
Elsewhere in his exit interview, the 21-year-old addressed his row with fellow Love Island contestant Shaq Muhammad, 24, when an argument about a beer pong kiss escalated.
After Muhammad branded Namani a “s**t stirrer, their fellow contestants stepped between them to prevent them from coming to blows.
Following the tense incident, Namani insisted that he and Muhammad are friends and said they got along for the rest of their time in the villa.
He said: “Yeah [we’re friends]. I knew 100% nothing would have come from that disagreement, and we would hug it out.
“I said sorry for my part, and he said the same and that’s it. We were the first two in and we got along after that as normal.”
In the wake of the controversy, Love Island released a statement outlining their duty of care and protocols in response to the incident.
A spokesperson said: “Language and behaviour in the Villa is always closely monitored, and Islanders are reminded of what we consider acceptable during their time on the show.
“Extensive duty of care protocols for all Islanders includes video training and guidance covering language and behaviour.
“We execute extensive background checks in advance of Islanders entering the show and are one of the only shows in the UK to offer such a detailed training programme to provide education and instruction to Islanders on what is considered unacceptable behaviour and how they should conduct themselves in the Villa.”
