Shakira Khan, the winner of Love Island, claims that women of color were frequently marginalized and labeled as “outcasts” by their fellow islanders. She also made an open race debate in the villa.
Shakira Khan may have left the Love Island villa this summer with a runner-up title and a romance with Harry Cooksley, but for the 22-year-old from Burnley, the experience was far from a dream holiday in the Spanish sun.
In one of the most open post-show interviews to date, Shakira discusses how to navigate racism, toxic beauty standards, and being isolated because of her ethnicity and heritage on the beloved ITV2 series.
Speaking on Paul C. Brunson’s podcast We Need To Talk, Shakira offered an unflinching look behind the glossy TV edits of Love Island as she shared her experiences of being judged because of her skin colour.
She resisted, “People couldn’t sit there and say there was a divide, there was a divide, and that’s okay.” That was my lived experience, and my friends will agree with me as much as they want to.
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Megan Moore and Helena Ford’s domestic partners only added to the division between the various girl groups, and Shakira has not shied away from criticizing their earlier claims that there wasn’t a divide between the opposing cliques.
After their villa experiences, both Megan and Helena have argued that there was a division, but Shakira is completely disagreed by. “That’s bulls**t”, she told Paul. The separation was clear, people say, “as much as they want to deny it.”
According to Shakira, the divide was all rooted in race and appearance and the fact that a lot of the girl’s did not fit the usual beauty standards that the ITV show has long upheld.
Shakira claims she was frequently cast as an outsider because she did not fit the island’s customary “white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes” stereotype, along with fellow islanders Toni Laites and Yasmin Pettet.
She continued, “Me, Toni, and Yas refer to ourselves as the outcasts.” There is a pattern here, which I don’t think anyone wants to discuss, and you could add Billykiss, Malisha, Andrada, Emma, among others. “Female of color”
The reality star then admitted that the boys were “oblivious” to what was actually happening and how quickly a troubling “outcast” dynamic started to emerge inside the villa.
Shakira described how she and other women of color were excluded from the dominant girl group without giving a name. Shakira insisted that all women of color were women when they realized they were not the only ones who felt isolated and gravitated toward one another.
She was backed up by Paul, who had closely followed the series. He acknowledged the division that viewers also openly discussed on social media at the time, saying, “This is exactly what I saw happen.”
For Shakira, the exclusion echoed her own childhood and brought her back to where she vowed never to go after being bullied and isolated because of her Pakistani roots.
She said, “People were prohibited from the community, even in my hometown,” “it boils down to childhood.” “People find community in their own and with people they have shared experiences with,” says the spokesperson for “the segregation of white communities and Asian communities.”
Shakira acknowledged that the division had worn her down and made her lose her sparkle, and the emotional impact was undeniable. Shakira was a little too emotionally attached to the endless drama, crude comments, and isolation, making Love Island viewers angst about her leaving and returning to the UK.
She admitted that “you start internalizing” if you are told “you’re wrong, you’re irrelevant” 100 times a day. Because there is nothing else going on, you don’t think that’s what people think.
Shakira explained to Paul how her strength came from being sorely resolute with her closest friends Toni and Yasmin despite the pain of her villa low points.
After going through a difficult experience, she reclaimed the label as a sign of resilience rather than rejection. “We banded together, the outcasts,” she said.
Shakira’s sincerity is a rare moment in the Love Island franchise, and it serves as a powerful reminder of how race and exclusion affect reality TV beyond the edits we can all see.
Shakira has made it clear that her story is more significant than her summer romance with Harry by speaking out on Paul’s podcast. Regardless of skin tone or country of origin, she demonstrated that friendship, identity, authenticity, and refusing to be silenced are all things.
The Mirror has approached a Love Island spokesperson for comment on this story. Love Island have reiterated their strict duty of care policy, which every Islander is given before they enter the villa.
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Source: Mirror
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