Viewers of Love Island have been left less than impressed with ITV2 bosses' nod to body diversity among this year's roster of hopefuls following Monday night's premiere.
The ITV2 reality show came under fire for its lack of body diversity once again after this year's cast was revealed to the public, with some fans suggesting that demands for plus size contestants have been ignored.
Some fans believe the show is using statuesque pharmacist Anna Vakili as an example of "plus-size" after the 28-year-old said she was happy to "rep for the curvy girls".
Advert
Airing their frustrations on Twitter, Love Island viewers criticised the idea that the Londoner, who is partnered with Sherif Lanre, represented body diversity on the show as her toned curves are a far cry from "plus-size".
One penned: "If that gal is plus size then I wanna be plus size asap. (sic)"
"Anna is classed as plus size. You're having a laugh, right?" another wrote. "An iPhone plus is more of a plus size than this Anna girl."
Advert
A third shared: "Please don't tell me Anna is meant to be the 'plus size model' they were talking about.. "
Speaking to Digital Spy before heading into the Hidden Hills villa, Anna said she was "different" from past Islanders but was happy to "rep for the curvy girls".
She began: "I think I'm different to anyone who has been on the show before. I have the whole glam look, I'm fun but at the same time I feel like I have more to me than that.
"I'm a bit curvier as well than some of the girls that have been on before, so I'm repping it for the curvy girls too. And because I'm a pharmacist, I'm very different...".
Advert
Ahead of the new series, Love Island creative director Richard Cowles defended the line-up and said that the show aims to be as "diverse as possible" after it faced criticism for a lack of body diversity.
Speaking about representation before the series, he told RadioTimes.com: "First and foremost, it's an entertainment show and it's about people wanting to watch who you've got on screen falling in love with one another.
"Yes, we want to be as representative as possible but we also want them to be attracted to one another.
"Also, we're not saying that everyone that's in there is how you're supposed to look. We're saying here's a group of people that we want to watch for eight weeks, and we want to watch them fall in love. That's not at the front of our mind, but we do want to be as diverse as possible."
Last week, Anna found herself at the centre of an online spat as presenter-turned-actress Jameela Jamil branded her the "token plus size" islander.
Featured Image Credit: Love Island / ITV2Topics: TV News, TV Entertainment, Love Island, Health