Capital Xtra radio host Will Njobvu believes that the lack of representation of dark skin tones in the mainstream media is not due to Love Island.
In Channel 4’s latest documentary titled Life after Love Islandthe 35-year-old presenter speaks to former contestants who have appeared on the hit dating show to discuss the downsides of fame once they leave the villa.
Launched in 2015, the ITV2 phenomenon has welcomed more than 259 hopefuls, and the documentary – which aired on 1 December – explained that 28 have landed lucrative brand deals, while more than 130 have returned to their normal jobs.
Series Eight star Ikenna Ekwonna explained that he gave up his job as a pharmaceutical salesman to pursue a career in content creation, but has had no luck so far.
The one-off special also highlights the 22% wage gap between black and white influencers, featuring white influencers, with stars such as Molly Mae Hague, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Gemma Owen teaming up with Pretty Little Thing and Oh Polly.
Despite Love Island being the common ground for all the stars, Will believes the show’s lack of representation for black people isn’t because of it.
“One thing I’ve realized from making this document is that this isn’t an ITV problem, this is a societal problem,” he told us.
India [Polack] is the first black woman to reach 1 million followers after leaving the show. That has nothing to do with production, that’s what society finds beautiful and a celebrity.’
He continued, “There is a desirable radiance, as one of the contributors said, and unfortunately we are not in the era where dark skin is highly desirable by the mainstream media and society. There is a lot of work to be done there.
The documentary also showed former Love Islanders like Coco Lodge expressing their initial expectation before appearing on the show.
“The perfect scenario would have been 1 million or 2 million followers,” she said.
“But I came out with 30,000 followers and I just didn’t really get it… I was like ‘why does everyone hate me?'”
Devoted Love Island fans are in for a treat next year, as the show will return in winter and summer — with the winter edition hosted by Maya Jama — but Will believes hopefuls should lower their expectations before signing on.
“Anyone who goes to a show like this has to have their expectations in the right place,” he said.
“Go on for fun, go on to enjoy, don’t go on and hope or spare your life that you will become a millionaire.”
“That’s why people get upset and develop these problems later on because they feel like they’re a ‘failure,’ but their expectations need to be managed.”
Life after Love Island is available to stream on All4.
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