The Love Island SA cast was criticised online for being too white. Picture: Twitter
The excitement at the premiere of Love Island SA on Sunday was palpable from fans across the country, at one point trending higher than President Cyril Ramaphosa’s level 1 lockdown announcement.
But the enthusiasm was tempered by disappointment at the lack of colour.
Hosted by media personality Leandie du Randt, the popular dating reality show first aired in the UK in 2015 and has gained a huge following.
Young attractive people looking for love in a scenic island location, but due to the pandemic M-net’s first season was set in luxury accommodation in the Western Cape.
When the faces of the “islanders” started appearing, audiences were not pleased with the lack of diversity chosen by the network.
Hey @MNet you could have called it Lief Eiland then. #LoveIslandSA
— Sylvester Chauke (@sylvesterchauke) February 28, 2021
This is not the first time M-net has been called out for its lack of diversity, another dating reality show Bachelor SA casting was also criticised.
In Love Island SA there are only three people of colour including one black girl, while the rest are white, Twitter users did not shy away from expressing their disappointment.
https://twitter.com/teawithkakes/status/1366090414382608384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”false https://twitter.com/Pedi_light/status/1366095036354543617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”false https://twitter.com/ShantellC18/status/1366097638702125058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”falseThis was not the only problem, there was also poor production quality at certain moments. There were sound overlaps and no sound at the start of the show. In general, viewers had a lot to say, most of it not positive.
https://twitter.com/kendrahunsley/status/1366101850068516864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”false https://twitter.com/kayla_arends/status/1366103943210815489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”false https://twitter.com/shaepickuptruck/status/1366107907885039619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”false https://twitter.com/dushan_munsami/status/1366143359665000461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” data-summari-detected=”true” data-summari-has-summary=”falseFor more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.