Love Island bosses warned new contestant Maura Higgins after seeing a video of her shouting a gay slur.
Higgins is set to enter the UK reality show’s villa this week (13 June). However, the 28-year-old has already been warned about appropriate behavior by bosses when a video of her shouting ‘faggot’ came to their attention.
Seen by the , the model says: ‘Introducing Dr Faggot.’ Her friend then replies with: ‘Are you ready to let the dogs out?’
The video is thought to have been filmed during a vacation to Dubai, where homosexuality is illegal.
The quote is in reference to 2009 film The Hangover. In it, Bradley Cooper’s character yells: ‘Paging Dr Faggot!’
ITV, who make the show, were quick to respond.
A spokesperson for the show told the news site: ‘We do not tolerate any offensive language in the villa and we speak to all of the islanders to remind them of what we condone to be acceptable behavior during their time on the show.’
Higgins isn’t the only Love Island contestant caught in a homophobia row. Historic tweets from 2014 showed fellow contestant Molly-Mae Hague using the word ‘gay’ in derogatory way.
Hague was 15 at the time of the tweets. However, a further, now-deleted retweet featured the N-word.
Love Island has come under criticism for how it cares for its contestants after the deaths of two of its stars.
Sophie Gradon, the first openly bisexual woman on the show, in 2018. Mike Thalassitis died by suicide in early 2019.
