This Love Island Contestant Has Been Called Out By Domestic Abuse Charity Over “Controlling” Behaviour
12 July 2017, 16:07 | Updated: 12 July 2017, 17:38
"What can all too easily be passed off as banter, actually carries the underlying sentiment that this man believes he owns this woman."
A domestic abuse charity has branded one of the contestants of Love Island "controlling and abusive" after a conversation he had with his partner on the show.
Jonny Mitchell, who was actually voted off the island in last night's show (July 11) was called out after using what the charity has deemed possessive and controlling language during a convo with Tyla.
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In case you haven't been keeping with the drama on the show, Jonny has been coupled up with Tyla for about 10 days until new boy Theo decided to choose her in the re-coupling, upsetting Jonny - and Tyla - in the process. Their relationship has been on the rocks ever since.
Jonny was later overheard in conversation with Tyla that Theo will have to pry her from his "cold, dead hands" if he wanted a serious chance with her.
Now, the CEO of Women's Aid, a charity that helps women and children deal with domestic abuse, has branded him "possessive and controlling". Polly Neate took to the charity's website to express her concerns about Jonny's words and behaviour toward the situation urging people to think twice before dismissing that kind of behaviour as 'banter'.
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"When Jonny said that new arrival Theo would have to prise Tyla 'from my cold dead hands' it was not romantic," she writes.
"It did not demonstrate how much he liked her. It was possessive and controlling. What can all too easily be passed off as banter, actually carries the underlying sentiment that this man believes he owns this woman. The fact that Tyla says she was left wanting to run away from a controlling relationship in the past, shows just how easy this sort of behaviour, if unchecked, can slip into a controlling and abusive relationship."
Since leaving the villa, Jonny told the Daily Mail that the comments were intended as a joke and explained that it was "not meant in a literal sense." He continued: "I was trying to put a more comical head on things and that was taken a little out of context as it was obviously a joke."
What do you think? Was Jonny just bantering like he said or was the charity right to call him out on his comments?
