Ofcom reject 14,000 Love Island complaints over bullying and gaslighting after ‘most complained about series in 4 years’

Published on August 18, 2025 at 06:55 PM
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LOVE Island will not be investigated by Ofcom – despite receiving more than 14,000 complaints about misogyny, bullying and mentally abusive behaviour. 

The last series of the show, which was won by Toni and Cach , was inundated with complaints throughout – making it the most offensive in four years. 

Upset woman crying while being comforted.
Ofcom will not be taking action about any of the Love Island complaints
Megan Moore from Love Island.
Meg was accused of bullying during her time on the show

In just one week of the show Ofcom received 9,000 complaints about alleged bullying behaviour towards Shakira .

It was the second most complained about Love Island week in history – the first was season seven when Faye Winter kicked off after Casa Amor with total of 29,101 in just one week.

Despite viewer’s concern, the regulator will not be taking any further action. 

A spokesperson said.”We carefully assessed the complaints we received about this series of Love Island.

“We recognise that emotionally charged or confrontational scenes can upset some viewers.

“But, in our view, negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light, and contestants were seen supporting or apologising to each other.

“We also took into account that the format of this reality show is well-established, and viewers would expect to see highs and lows as relationships and friendships are tested.”

Ofcom received 14,167 complaints about the ITV reality series, including 24 about spin-off show Love Island: Unseen Bits, with the highest number of complaints coming on July 24, which saw 3,549 complaints relating to alleged bullying behaviour towards contestant Shakira Khan.

Other complaints related to further alleged bullying of Khan, as well as fellow contestants Toni Laites , Yasmin Pettet , Meg Moore and Helena Ford , concern over contestants’ mental health throughout the series, and Dejon Noel-Williams’s behaviour towards M eg.

Further complaints were made about the show’s producers bringing contestant Megan Forte Clarke back onto the programme after she was dumped from the villa, and alleged race and gender based discrimination.

Love Island’s 12th series ran from June 9 to August 4 and Toni Laites and Cach Mercer took home the £50k,  while Khan and Harry Cooksley finished as runners-up.

Shakira from Love Island reacting.
The series saw a huge number of twists and turns
Meg and Dejon from Love Island.
Dejon was amongst those to come under fire

LOVE ISLAND VOTING PERCENTAGES

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TONI and Cach won the Love Island 2025 final - yet what were the exact voting percentages?

Las Vegas waitress  Toni Laites  and professional dancer Cach Mercer went head-to-head with OG islanders  Shakira Khan  and  Harry Cooksley  in a nail-biting finale.

However, Toni and Cach were triumphant and  won the summer series  after surviving a love triangle just two weeks before the final.

A results table shared on Love Island’s Instagram account this afternoon showed Toni and Cach were the runaway winners on the night, taking over a third of the votes, with 33.5% of viewers backing them for the crown.

However, Shakira and Harry drew a sizeable 26.2% of the votes, and Yas and Jamie were not far behind taking 22% on the nose.

Aesthetics practitioner  Angel , 26, only made her debut on July 17, but managed to secure an impressive 18.3% of the overall voting audience with Casa Amor boy Ty.

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