Women's Aid has released a statement to claim Love Island's Danny Bibby was 'gaslighting' Lucinda Strafford after becoming 'increasingly concerned' about his actions.
Women's Aid has issued a statement over its concerns that Love Island star Danny Bibby appeared to be 'gaslighting' Lucinda Strafford before he exited the villa.
It comes after Love Island received more than 600 Ofcom complaints in two weeks amid a warning that it could be "pulled off the air completely".
As millions tune in to see who left Love Island last night, Danny was dumped alongside fellow newbie AJ Bunker, after those who were safe from elimination were given the job to decide who should leave the villa.
But in the run-up to his departure, he had been pursuing a relationship with Lucinda, who was torn between him and Aaron Francis.
Women's Aid, which is committed to ending abuse towards women, has spoken out to raise its concerns over the way Danny acted towards Lucinda on the show and issued a statement highlighting its 'gaslighting' claim to Love Island.
The statement reads, "Last night, we saw the development of Danny and Lucinda’s relationship and became increasingly concerned with his behaviour towards her on-screen, including what looked like gaslighting, possessiveness, and manipulation.
"This is not what a healthy relationship looks like. These are all tactics used by perpetrators of abuse."
Women’s Aid also emphasised that "gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse which makes someone question their perception of reality," adding that "it is a form of coercive control, which has been a criminal offence since 2015".
The charity asked Love Island producers to "step in" to stop abusive behaviour, claiming "it is not the first time it's happened" on the show.
The statement continued, "We urge the producers of Love Island to recognise coercive control when it is happening on the show, as this is not the first time it has happened,’ the charity stated.
"Producers should step in when any form of behaviour is abusive, as abuse should not be used for entertainment.’
In a statement shared with Metro.co.uk, Love Island said that it takes "the emotional well-being of all the Islanders extremely seriously".
The show said, "We have dedicated welfare producers and psychological support on hand at all times who monitor and regularly speak to all of the Islanders in private and off-camera. All the Islanders are therefore fully supported by the professionals on-site and by their friends in the villa."
Meanwhile, Danny sparked outrage from viewers last week, when more than 1,500 complained to Ofcom after a racist slur was uncovered on his social media.
Danny later issued a statement, apologising from inside the villa, saying, "I'd like to take the time to apologise to anyone that may have taken offence to my inappropriate remark. I never meant anything malicious by this comment at all.
"I am not a racist person and it's unacceptable language and ignorant. I meant no offence and feel like I have really learnt from my mistakes and will never use that word again. I am a kind loving person and hopefully you get to see that in the show."
You can watch Love Island weeknights and Sundays at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVhub, and 10pm on Saturdays.
