A men's domestic abuse charity is said to have voiced concerns regarding the female Love Island star’s behaviour towards the male contestants in the South African villa.
Mankind Initiative has reportedly highlighted the ‘gaslighting and manipulation’ towards the men on the ITV2 reality show in recent scenes, as tempers flared in the wake of the Casa Amor twist.
Contestants including Shaq Muhammad, Tom Clare and Will Young have all been reduced to tears in the main villa, while Kai Fagan has been on the receiving end of repeated verbal confrontations, prompting what has been dubbed a ‘toxic femininity’ row.
Mankind Initiative has now called on show bosses to ensure the show is offering the same duty of care they would to female contestants, following a toxic masculinity row last summer.
In a statement shared with MailOnline, a spokesperson for the charity said: "Love Island has once again showed that when it comes to abusive behaviours against partners such as manipulation and gaslighting, it affects men as well as women as victims.
"The producers need to make sure they apply the same standards to the male contestants as they have been forced to in recent years for female contestants. We and our supporters are monitoring the show closely."
It comes after Shaq Muhammad was left in tears as he fled the villa with Tom Clare in the wake of Movie Night’s carnage, which saw him argue with partner Tanya Manhenga over the clips aired in the show’s staple segment.
The footage showed Tanya kissing Irish bombshell Martin Akinola in their bed at Casa Amor and instead of apologising for the scenes she stood her ground and the pair argued.
ITV told The Mirror in response to the statement: "Love Island holds a mirror up to relationships and all the different dynamics that go with them."
The comprehensive duty of care in place at the show is available to both male and female contestants on the show, with a welfare team dedicated in place for the Islanders both during the show and after.
Love Island announced a series of major changes to its duty of care rules ahead of the winter series, making protocols stricter following backlash over the show's aftercare in recent years.
The ITV2 show announced that the new stars must agree to pause their social media platforms for the duration of their time on the show.
Love Island also announced that new Islanders would receive training and guidance around ‘mutually respectful behaviour in relationships’.
Love Island confirmed the contestants would be offered resource links to read up on, in advance of meeting their fellow Islanders, to help them identify negative behaviours in relationships and understand the behaviour patterns associated with controlling and coercive behaviour.
They also said twenty-somethings looking for love would be given video training and guidance covering inclusive language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, and microaggressions.
This isn't first time Love Island has been warned by a domestic violence charity.
In 2018, Women's Aid issued a warning about spotting signs of abuse and gaslighting, following Adam Collard's treatment of Rosie Williams in the Spanish villa.
Love Island bosses have introduced a strict welfare procedure over recent series, to protect the islander's physical and mental health.
Amy Hart was so heartbroken when Curtis Pritchard dumped her in the villa back in 2019 that concerned ITV welfare officers would climb into bed with her to comfort her when she was at her lowest point.
"I lost a stone in my first six months in BA and when Curtis finished with me I wasn’t hungry and wanted to control my [diet] again but ITV stepped in and made me eat as the psyche was watching me all the time," Amy recalled to Heat magazine.
"The welfare girl came in every single lunchtime apart from one day a week to check how much water we were having, how much we’d eaten and how we were."
The mum-to-be added: "And when it all went tits up for me and I was lying in bed crying at lunchtime, she would get into bed with me and just stroke my head and talk to me and now I speak to her on the phone twice a week to check how I am."
* Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX
