Love Island: All Stars receives 10,000 Ofcom complaints over ‘alleged bullying’ scenes

‘You’re strong. You can do it,’ Jama told islander Lucinda Strafford CultureTV & RadioNewsLove Island: All Stars receives 10,000 Ofcom complaints over ‘alleged bullying’ scenes‘You’re strong. You can do it,’ Jama told islander Lucinda StraffordIsobel Lewis Wednesday 18 February 2026 11:54 ESTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverLove Island trailerYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreLove Island All Stars generated more than 8,500 complaints with a single episode, following a “hard to watch” altercation that left host Maya Jama running off to comfort one of the islanders.Currently shooting in South Africa, the winter series of Love Island sees former contestants from the UK show – rather than members of the public – and other international versions looking to find love in the villa.One contestant who has divided the villa and viewers this series is former islander Lucinda Strafford. During Friday (13 February) night’s episode of the show, Lucinda (who appeared on the 2021 series) ran away from the camera in tears following an argument with the other girls.Ofcom received 8,594 complaints about the episode of Love Island, which they said were related to “alleged bullying”. The media watchdog had also received 2,249 complaints about the previous day’s episode. For comparison, the summer 2025 series of Love Island received 14,167 complaints in total. The Independent has contacted ITV for comment. Friday’s explosive episode saw the islanders take part in the game “To Be Honest”, where the couples had to assign senior superlative-style titles to their fellow islanders.open image in galleryLucinda was visibly upset by the comments (ITV/YouTube)The labels of “Doing It For The Clout” and “Biggest Game Player” both went to Lucinda and her partner Sean Stone, which the islanders said was due to the pair getting involved in other people’s business. They then called out Lucinda for laughing when giving Samie Elishi a pie to the face during the “Snog, Marry, Pie” challenge.When Lucinda said that she often struggled to keep a straight face, Jessy Potts made a dig at her. “It’s lovely that you’ve come in here for the fourth time Lucinda, ‘cause I think you’ve shown your true colours of who you really are on the outside, and I’m happy that’s being shown,” she said, in reference to Lucinda appearing also having appeared on international versions Love Island Australia and Love Island Games.While Sean and Lucinda said the comments were “just mean”, Jessy Potts, Belle Hassan, Jessy and Samie all argued that the comments were “facts”. Lucinda then ran off, which Ciaran Davies responded to by saying that “of course she’s run away” while Belle called it a “PR stunt”.Jama, however, paused the game. Telling the islanders she’d be right back, she went after Lucinda, who she found crying inside the villa. Comforting her, the presenter said: “Obviously you’ve had disagreements with people. You’re not going to get on with everyone.”open image in galleryJama offered some words of support to Lucinda (ITV/YouTube)“I genuinely feel like it’s me against the f***ing world in this place,” Lucinda said, with Jama telling her: “It’s not… You’re strong. You can do it.”In addition to complaining to Ofcom about the girls, viewers were quick to come to Lucinda’s defence in the comment section, with one declaring that the moment was “honestly horrible to watch”. “Whether you like Lucinda or not, the way the girls are acting towards her has gone too far,” wrote one commenter, while another said: “She can’t laugh, she can’t cry, she can’t nod her head, she can’t run away without being screamed at or mocked. It's horrible.”“To make fun of her WHILE she was running off to cry is as an extra layer of mean,” one comment read. “Massive respect to Maya for that - looking out for Lucinda when no one else will,” another echoed.More aboutLove IslandOFCOMMaya JamaJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesCommentsMost popularPopular videosBulletinRead next