Laura Whitmore criticises LBC presenter for saying Love Island makes her think ‘shoot me now’

‘I think the phrase ‘shoot myself’ was inappropriate,’ says Whitmore

Laura Whitmore has responded to comments Shelagh Fogarty made about Love Island on her LBC show.

Speaking about her experience of watching Love Island, Fogarty said: “[It] has made me a bit uncomfortable and it has made me a bit sad.

The radio show host continued: “It is OK for young people to have fun, to do stupid stuff, to want to go on telly and earn a bit of money, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it.

“But when you hear the conversations that take place, I just think ‘oh my goodness me, do these people know anything about themselves?’​

“Do they have any insight, do they have any desire to look outside themselves and relish the world around them or is it just: he thinks, she thinks, he thinks, oh bikini, oh legs, oh arms, oh sixpack. I just think ohh, shoot me. It is unbelievable narcissistic nonsense.

“Or fun? I don’t know, I think it’s the former. I’m sure it can be the latter and I’m just being an old fuddy-duddy.”

In response to Fogarty’s comments, Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore tweeted: “To the presenter on @lbc now – making a comment implying all love island contestants are stupid and not smart and actually said if I have to hear them talking ‘shoot me now’ I think is highly inappropriate no?

“Happy random act of kindness day. Have we learned nothing?”

Whitmore went on to clarify her comment, responding to a Twitter user: “I think the phrase ‘shoot myself’ was inappropriate. We can all have silly conversations and not be written off... that was my point”.

On Sunday morning (16 February) Whitmore paid tribute to her friend Caroline Flack in a tearful radio appearance, after the former Love Island presenter was found dead at her London flat.

Speaking on her BBC Radio 5 Live show on Sunday morning Whitmore called out “clickbait” news and online trolls for their treatment of Flack.

Defending Love Island, Whitmore said: “The problem wasn’t the show, the show to work on is loving and caring and safe and protected. The problem is, the outside world is not.”

Whitmore said that Flack “loved to love” and “that’s all she wanted, which is why a show like Love Island was important to her because the show is about finding love, friendship, having a laugh”.

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