Caroline Flack has defended Love Island from criticism by actress and campaigner Jameela Jamil.
Earlier this week, after the line-up of Love Island was revealed, Jameela tweeted about the “token ‘plus size’ contestant” questioning if producers were “drunk”.
The producers of Love Island think this slim woman counts as their new token “plus size” contestant? Are they drunk? pic.twitter.com/sam4AqzzQw
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) 28 May 2019
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And now Caroline, in an interview with The Sun, has insisted that although she admires Jameela’s body diversity campaign, she’s wrong about the show.
“She’s always criticised the show,” Caroline told them. “I wonder if she’s actually watched it, because it isn’t about what you see on face value.
“I’m a massive fan of Jameela and what she stands for. I’m not in any way putting her down, I really like her.”
She went on to add: “You can only cast a show on who’s right for it, in a relationship sense. It’s a dating show. You can only choose out of the people that apply.
“They’ve just got to be right in that moment, they don’t cast it because of what they look like, it’s who’s in the right moment.”
Jameela is not the only star to slam Love Island with former TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh also hitting out.
She tweeted: “Sorry to 2 b negative as so many are super excited about Love Island.
“Just to be clear I’m not body shaming them for being this size/shape but why not mix it up a bit!! but y are all the girls size 6-8 & all the guys have a six pack?”
It’s not the first time Caroline has defended the show recently.
Following the deaths of two former contestants, she said the negative headlines about the show made her “angry”.
The programme, which is about to return to TV screens, has faced increased scrutiny since the deaths of Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis.
Caroline said of media criticism: “It’s dangerous and I’m really, really angry. It’s not just that you’re blaming a TV show, you’re blaming people and their jobs.”
She told Cosmopolitan magazine: “In life, we all have a duty of care to look out for each other, but I don’t think it’s fair to point fingers of blame.
“This is a much bigger issue than just a reality TV show, and when something this bad happens… when something this horrible and sad occurs, it’s so dangerous to point fingers within hours and minutes of it happening. None of us know what’s going through someone’s mind and we can’’ sit there and speculate.”
She added that she thinks it’s “time to think about the bigger picture about what’s going on with young men and young people and the pressures of modern life”.
Caroline admitted it’s “just too sad and too sensitive to talk about”.
The dating reality show returns to ITV2 on Monday, against a backdrop of some calls for it to be dropped.
ITV recently announced an enhanced duty of care process, including a minimum of eight therapy sessions for contestants.
Caroline also spoke about her personal life and her split from ex-fiance Andrew Brady.
She said she’s “getting back on the horse” and has been “dating and really enjoying it”.
Caroline added that she’s “decided to give people a chance, go and date and have some fun with it”.
Read more: Love Island 2019 cast officially revealed!
The presenter also vowed to stop putting her love life on Instagram, adding it’s “nice to celebrate how you feel at a particular time, but don’t get carried away”.
Caroline denied she was dating her personal trainer Bradley Simmonds, saying she “wouldn’t want to ruin it because he’s the best thing” and “the only constant in my life right now”.
The July issue of Cosmopolitan is on sale from May 31.
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