Love Island’s Indiyah shares concerns over being branded the ‘angry black girl’

Love Island finalist Indiyah Polack has revealed she has concerns about being branded the “angry black girl” during her time on the hit ITV2 dating show.

Polack came third in the eighth series of Love Island with partner Dami Hope, after the couple secured 11.8% of the public vote.

Speaking on BBC 1Xtra Breakfast with Nadia Jae, the 23-year-old was asked by Jae whether she felt pressure not to “overreact” during certain situations on the show for fear of being labelled the “angry black girl”.

Polack replied: “Yeah, I think definitely.

“Especially in Casa Amor, I was definitely put in a position where I could easily have popped off.

“It was an annoying thing and I definitely had to think first before I said certain things because I knew if I reacted in a certain way… angry black girl, the aggressor, the bully, the this, the that.

“But me in general, I’m not an angry girl.”

She also discussed the expectation to represent “black love” while on the show, telling Jae: “I love my black men.

“But respectfully, if the black love didn’t happen, what am I supposed to do?

“So I didn’t feel the pressure of ‘I need to be with a black guy, I need to do this black love’.

“I went in there for me, if I found someone, I found love – it’s no-one else’s business, you can’t pressure me to find love.”

Her 26-year-old partner Hope agreed, saying: “When I got with Indiyah, I knew everyone would be tweeting ‘black love, black love’.

“And when Casa Amor happened, I knew that if I did what I needed to do for myself, people were gonna be crying and complaining.

“Because I’ve been on Twitter and I get it.

“You know I’ve sent some people back into hiding since I’ve been out. People were coming for me when I was in there! Nah… I’m just playing.”

During the show’s eight-week run, Polack and Hope experienced a blip in their relationship when they both re-coupled with bombshell contestants during the Casa Amor segment of the series.

Hope chose to couple up with Summer Botwe, while Polack returned to the villa holding Deji Adeniyi’s hand, leading to a frosty exchange between the pair.

“Everything happens for a reason. It is what it is,” Polack said, with Dami retorting: “Until it isn’t. Happy for you, happy for myself. We’re all heartbreakers, so here we are.”

Indiyah added: “It seems it. Expect the unexpected. May the best heartbreaker win.”

However the couple, who became known as Damiyah, soon reunited and made it through to the final, ultimately losing out on the £50,000 prize to Ekin-Su Culculoglu and her boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti, who won the reality dating show on August 1 with 63.7% of the public vote.

The full interview with Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope on BBC Radio 1Xtra Breakfast with Nadia Jae is available on BBC Sounds.