Love Island South Africa has endured a difficult start to its run this weekend, after it was subject to a wave of ridicule online. As well as struggling with technical issues, the cast itself was called into question – with some comparing the majority of white contestants to the Afrikaner-only enclave of Orania.
M-Net’s Love Island SA mocked on debut
Indeed, ‘Love Island Orania’ became the top trend on Twitter overnight, and remains there on Monday morning. The complaints raised on social media tackled a serious issue, but didn’t spare us a that typical dark-brand of SA humour:
If you wanted to do Love Island Orania, just say that, man. https://t.co/8OPcbRIQQG Kovie Biakolo (@koviebiakolo) February 28, 2021
South Africans are a special bunch. On Sunday, the local version of Love Island debuted on M-Net and social media users have been shading it ever since.
“Love Island Orania” has been trending in the top 5 on Twitter. Similarly to the channel’s other reality show, The Bachelorette, the show seems to be lacking in the diversity of the contestants.
If you wanted to do Love Island Orania, just say that, man. https://t.co/8OPcbRIQQG Kovie Biakolo (@koviebiakolo) February 28, 2021
Love Island is a popular reality TV competition. The idea is that a bunch of young, hot singles are flown out to an tropical setting where they compete for each other’s affection. Because it’s on an island, everyone is scantily clad. Sex sells and whatnot. Viewers also get a chance to pair up who they believe to be the best romantic matches.