Disgraceful: Love Island slammed by psychologist

A LEADING psychologist has labelled Love Island Australia “disgraceful”, claiming it showcases “terrible attitudes towards women”.

Speaking to 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Wednesday, psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said he was unhappy to see the Channel 9 show premiere in Australia on Sunday.

“It’s been going in the UK since 2006, essentially it’s a program about size eight girls and oversexed meat-heads with six packs,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

“I think it’s going to display — and I’m [going to be] delighted if I’m wrong — terrible attitudes towards women.”

The psychologist claimed the show served as “an oestrogen buffet for the boys” with male contestants able to “pick and choose” between the bikini-clad women.

“What message does that send our young people? That the only way you are going to be acceptable is if you’re sexy, thin and hot ... is it helpful to young people struggling with their body image?” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

He also slammed the show for not being “inclusive of the LGBT community” and said it would be a “a terrible representation of what single twenty-something men are like”.

“We have a huge problem in this country with sexism, we have a huge problem with domestic violence. I do not believe that this show — unless they have radically changed it, and I’ll be watching on Sunday — is helpful,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

While the Australian version of Love Island is yet to premiere it has already been generating controversy online.

Disgruntled viewers took to Twitter earlier this week to complain about raunchy advertisements for the series running during ad breaks for The Voice Australia.

The show has also attracted criticism for the lack of diversity in its casting, although it’s believed that like the UK version more contestants will arrive in future episodes.

Nine declined to comment.

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