Love Island winners weigh in on All Stars diversity row as fans slam line-up
Love Island's Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan have addressed the diversity row surrounding All Stars.
In recent days, fans have been left angered after a string of blonde bombshells entered the villa. Earlier this week, Kaz Kamwi was sent home from the South African villa, with Toby Aromolaran now being the only black person left. For this series, the only black singletons to enter the villa were Kaz, Toby, and Sophie Piper – sparking fury.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at the MOBO Awards, villa winners Kai and Sanam addressed the recent row as three blonde bombshells entered the sprawling South Africa property. Sanam, 25, said: "I think at the end of the day it's up to them who they want to get with."
Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan have addressed the controversy surrounding Love Island (Getty Images For MOBO)
Kaz was sent home from the villa, instantly sparking outrage amongst fans due to the lack of diversity (ITV)Kai added: "You have to bear in mind people might have racial preferences but it would be very naïve to say somebody like Kaz only wants to be with a black guy. She might be in the villa and she might want to be with a white guy but might not have felt a connection.
"I think it’s naïve to think if you’re white, you’re with white, if you’re black you’re with black. I'm mixed race, so I’m white and black, she’s Indo-Caribbean so we’ve got three races going on here, so if it was a question of race, she wouldn’t be with me and I wouldn’t be with her."
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But fans have previously questioned whether Love Island is an authentic way to help find love but the couple have had their say, explaining that the show has a strong success rate. Kai said: "Out of the 30-odd people who went on our season, there's only me, you (Sanam), Shaq and Tanyel and Will and Jessie still together.
"It's blind dating and six people out of 30 odd people is pretty good." The pair joked that they were "one step ahead" of Will and Jessie, who recently revealed they are planning their future together, including buying a house, marrying and eventually welcoming children.
Earlier this week, fans took to social media to hit out at the program for the lack of racial diversity, with one writing on X, formerly Twitter: "THREE blonde bombshells, absolutely NO diversity." Another asked: "You’re right that it’s lacking the diversity. Are all the women blonde?! Except lovely Kaz?” and another wrote: “Why is it the same kind of people going in. Where is the diversity?"
Although Kai and Sanam were able to sit back and enjoy the ceremony, he said of the MOBOs: "We were really excited, we're so excited to see some of the acts and listen to the music." Sanam explained that it was their first time attending the awards, while Kai was excited to be back in Sheffield, the city where he studied for his both his undergraduate and post-graduate degrees.
However, they've not managed to catch up on Love Island and instead have only managed to see the previews shared by ITV on the official Love Island Instagram page.
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