This year’s Love Island All Stars got off to a very promising start for its Black contestants. Off the top, we had three Black contestants, Shaq, Whitney and Leanne, as opposed to the prescriptive one Black man, one Black woman usually cast. Another pleasant surprise was that the Black contestants were not instantly coupled up together, by choice or by public vote. Bombshell Scott made a beeline for Leanne immediately, while Whitney and Boyzone nepo baby Jack Keating seemed to hit it off, and Shaq started getting to know… everyone, reciprocally.

I was happily plodding along, gorging on this year’s iteration of my favourite guilty pleasure show, shocked but satiated by reality TV minus the societal racism that has plagued nearly every other season. Until last Friday.

ITV

During a game of Never Have I Ever at the fire pit, Whitney, who is known for defending her friends, being straight-talking and hilarious, came under fire from not one, but three people in the villa.

First, Whitney said it had been Belle’s decision not to kiss Shaq, who was getting to know both Belle and Helena, earlier that day. Whitney based this on what Belle had told her before she “pulled” Shaq: that she would not be kissing him. Shaq disagreed and explained it had been a mutual decision. “Okay, I was wrong,” Whitney said after hearing what Shaq had to say. Shaq was still unhappy, and later used this exchange to berate Whitney in front of other islanders and denounce her friendship.

After this uncomfortable exchange, Whitney was called out for forgetting one of her love interests’ names by one of her closest friends, Jess. “Never have I ever forgotten anyone’s name in the villa,” the question asked, and Whitney drank. “Whitney!” Jess laughed. “I’ve already drank, thanks ‘sis’,” Whitney replied sharply. “Elaborate!” giggled Jess. “What kind of friend are you?” Whitney asked, clearly not in on the joke. “Stop arguing,” other cast members began to say to Whitney. “I’m not arguing, I’m disagreeing with how someone is moving, learn the difference,” she said.

Finally, Whitney dared to defend her friend AJ, who had already been dumped from the villa, when Shaq revealed to the group that he had dubbed AJ’s touchiness an ‘ick’. Shaq was instantly irate with Whitney. When responding, he wouldn’t look directly at her. Kieran jumped in to Shaq’s defence, and when Whitney responded (with her inside voice, might I add) to Kieran, Shaq said, “Why are you shouting at him?” Whitney, well aware of the implications of being perceived as ‘shouting’, replied, “How am I shouting… Why are you making me seem like I’m shouting?” When another contestant, Samie, reiterated Whitney’s point, Shaq’s entire demeanour changed, as he began to calmly explain his ‘ick’ comment. “See how he speaks to Samie… but to me he’s on some gangster sh*t,” Whitney said of his change in tone.