Tasha Ghouri has slammed stereotypical and ableist comments made about the way she acts as a deaf woman.
The Love Island finalist, 24, opens up about the pressure to "act a certain way because I wear a cochlear implant" throughout her time on the ITV2 show, and her plans to use her platform to aid the deaf community in a new YouTube video.
Tasha - who has moved boyfriend Andrew Le Page into her London home- recalls how returning home from the Spanish villa and seeing some of the comments showed her how there "is still a lot of work that needs to be done" regarding how people who are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing are treated by society.
Speaking as she shares a makeup tutorial with fans, Tasha says: "I'm also going to be working on pushing the deaf community even more. I think coming out [of Love Island] it really did show me there is a lot of work that still needs to be done."
She continues: "Going into the show and really wanting to show people that just because you have a superpower, it doesn't define you - it's just part of something special that you have.
"And coming out of the show and seeing some of the comments that people were saying about me, that I should act a certain way because I wear a cochlear implant because I'm deaf is so stereotypical."
Tasha - who was recently announced as eBay's first pre-loved ambassador - made Love Island history earlier this summer as the show's first deaf contestant, and proudly wore her cochlear implant on screen during her time in the villa.
A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can assist in providing a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that rests behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin.
"There is no certain way a deaf person should act ever," Tasha continues in her first YouTube video shared since leaving the show.
"It's just a part of who you are," she adds. "I'm human like everyone else and yeah...it was.... quite a few comments I saw. The thing is with me, you can have an opinion - a negative one - but never bring someone's superpower into it, because that's ableism and there was a lot of that."
Tasha adds: "A lot of that and it goes to show we've still got a long way to go and I still use my voice for the greater good."
During the 2022 Love Island series, Tasha grew emotional and burst into tears at times - with some viewers even claiming her fellow Islanders Jacques O'Neil and Luca Bish were bullying the model at one point.
Despite some rocky moments during the infamous Casa Amor stage of the show, Love Island finalist Tasha and her boyfriend Andrew seem to be one of the strongest couple's to come out of the series - with Paige Thorne recently revealing the pair are house hunting in London.
Former estate agent Andrew is acting every inch the doting boyfriend to the model and dancer - even unfollowing former Islander Jacques on Instagram amid ongoing bullying accusations involving his partner and other ex contestants.
The reality TV star recently made it clear Tasha is his priority and addressed a viral video in which rugby player Jacques appears to mock his partner and call her a liar during a scene on Love Island where she confesses her love for Andrew.
Speaking in a recent YouTube interview, Andrew addressed his Instagram snub and made it clear how things stand between him and Jacques going forward.
"Yeah, it obviously is true [I unfollowed Jacques]," Andrew told Heat magazine's hosts Harriet Rose and Chris Taylor last week.
"Tasha is my priority and obviously there was a video that came out. We’re trying to move away from it all and just be ourselves and get on with life."
Andrew's comments came just hours prior to Jacques' public apology for his recent actions and admission he has sought out therapy on the same day, amid allegations he had bullied Tasha and fellow former Islander Remi Lambert.
Gemma Owen's ex-boyfriend, 23, shared a statement on his Instagram story on Thursday August 11 to "acknowledge the situation" and "apologise if my behaviour has caused offence".
In the statement, the rugby star explained how was in therapy and admitted "there is work that needs to be done on myself".
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