“I felt like everyone hated me”: Georgia Steel speaks out on the online trolling she received during her time on Love Island

On March 31, 2024, Georgia Steel, a member of the Love Island cast, revealed to Sky News that she had to temporarily step away from social media due to the severe online harassment she faced while residing in the All Stars villa.

In 2018, the 26-year-old joined the fourth season of the well-known ITV dating show and later returned for the All Stars edition. While she was on the show, her family took care of her social media account, and they were compelled to release a statement condemning the “hateful threats”they had received.

Recently, Steel also discussed the issue of internet trolling in an interview with Sky News.

“I don’t think anyone can kind of prepare you for that.”

Adding to that, she commented:

“I felt like everyone hated me.”

In January 2024, Georgia and Islander Toby Aromolaran achieved fourth place on Love Island: All Stars.

Georgia Steel Speaks Out Against Online Trolls and Abuse

Despite finding it difficult to talk about, reality star Georgia Steel has spoken out about the trolling she and her loved ones faced while on Love Island: All Stars. She believes it is a pressing issue that must be addressed.

The Love Island alum rose to fame in 2018. With a massive following on various social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, she announced her return in January 2024 to compete in the highly-anticipated All Stars edition of the show, which will take place in South Africa.

This is the location where she experienced cyberbullying. In an interview with Sky News about the mistreatment, Georgia Steel stated:

“You don’t really know how to process that if I’m honest, you’re quite scared, you don’t know if the whole world hates you.”

Additionally, she commented:

“My family and my friends, they had death threats. My mum got messages like, ‘How could you raise a girl like this?’ Yeah, which is awful, because like in reality… I just want to make the people that support and love me proud.”

Georgia Steel became the subject of much scrutiny when rumors surfaced that she had flirted with a person who was not her significant other at the time. Shortly after, it was said that she had formed a relationship with fellow contestant Toby Aromolaran, who had supposedly ended his own relationship and showed interest in Georgia.

Additionally, she mentioned that her family and management team had been keeping an eye on her social media accounts during her isolation from the outside world. They felt the need to step in and make this post public due to the overwhelming negative response it had received.

Furthermore, Georgia Steel received even more backlash for her behavior on the show following the screening of additional videos showcasing her interactions with different contestants at the PDA Awards ceremony.

According to an ITV spokesman at the time, it was stated:

“We would always urge our viewers to be kind when engaging in social media conversations about our Islanders, and to remember that they are real people with feelings.”

In order to shield Georgia Steel from the extent of the abuse, most of the texts were deleted before returning her phone. She wept upon discovering the messages that her loved ones deemed necessary to share with the public.

Last year, ITV imposed a social media limitation in light of the online abuse faced by the Islanders. The guidelines permitted friends and family of returning participants to post on their accounts while they were residing at the villa.

On February 29, 2024, during an interview with BBC, Georgia expressed her belief that it was the correct decision.

“I’m already on social media and it’s my way of life. I don’t think it’s necessary to take that away from me.”

Despite what others may think, Georgia Steel firmly believed that there is still much more that can be done to prevent misuse.