Companies Withdraw Sponsorship On ‘White’ Love Island SA
Black Twitter went crazy last night after the much-anticipated show, Love Island South African version debuted with a dominantly white cast – and just two blacks.
Netizens felt it was too white for South Africa and did not deserve to be called ‘Love Island SA’ but ‘Love Island Orania’- a white-dominant controversial town in South Africa.
From Twitter trends, the show has already lost viewers before it even started.
But what’s more damning is that major sponsors have started pulling out from the promising show.
Today, South Africa’s Lotto company – Lottostar announced that it has taken a decision to ‘respectfully’ withdraw its sponsorship.
While much wasn’t said about why it took this decision, it’s quite obvious they acknowledge the alleged subtle racism the show producers had in picking their contestants.
“LottoStar has taken the decision to respectfully withdraw its sponsorship of Love Island SA. We wish the show and its contestants every success,” the LottoStar director said.
“LottoStar has taken the decision to respectfully withdraw its sponsorship of Love Island SA. We wish the show and its contestants every success” – Director, LottoStar. #LoveIslandSA
— Lottostar (@Lotto_Star) March 2, 2021
Celebrities alike came after the MNET show to express disappointment over its lack of diversity.
Prince Kaybee was among those who aired out their disappointments.
He believes that this was a deliberate blunder by the production company to get to the trends so many would watch the show.
But they failed at doing so if that’s true.
“This was deliberately done to trend from the justified outrage. Surely using black pain and outrage as a marketing tool should be a thing of the past but you still have shows like Love Island with an all-white cast,” Prince Kaybee said.
More On iHarare
- Skeem Saam’s Mogkadi And Hubby Left With Bruises After Accident From Attempted Hijack
- MaMkhize Makes Her First Appearance On Uzalo