Advertisement

Laura Whitmore brushes off accusations of shaming Love Island's Ekin-Su

Laura Whitmore has brushed off the sl*t-shaming furore levelled at her by posting a video of Sir Anthony Hopkins dancing.

The Love Island host has come under fire from furious Twitter users after she made comments about contestants Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and George Tasker's flirty behaviour.

Those offended accused Laura, who spoke about an alleged dalliance on spin-off show Aftersun with guests comedian Darren Harriott, singer Tom Grennan and radio presenter Sian Welby, of "sl*t shaming" Ekin-Su and "normalising sexism".

While the Irish presenter hasn't addressed the comments, she did post a video on her Instagram Stories of Sir Anthony joyfully dancing to Columbian music.

"We all need to be a bit more @anthonyhopkins," she wrote over the clip, which the Welsh actor first posted earlier this month.

In the wake of the criticism from fans, network ITV has leapt to the defence of its star. TV executives also covered the online abuse the stars of the current series are facing.

"We do not condone trolling against either our host or our Islanders and any subsequent elevation of these comments," the statement reads.

During the Aftersun episode, Laura interviewed Islander Jacques O'Neill, who recently quit the show to protect his mental health. The chat was condemned by viewers after a clip was played of his partner on the show, Paige Thorne, kissing Adam Collard.

"We had various measures in place to ensure Jacques' welfare was prioritised at all times ahead of and during his appearance on Aftersun," the statement continued.

"This included a full briefing with show producers to outline the show's content and likely questioning, a conversation with Laura before and after the show was recorded, and chaperoning from both a welfare producer and a member of his family while he was in (the) studio."