Love Island contestant apologises for homophobic tweets: ‘I was really naïve’

Love Island star George Fensom has apologised for a series of homophobic tweets that resurfaced online just days before the 2023 season starts.

Fensom, a business development executive from Bradford, is part of the line-up of 10 singletons entering the Love Island villa in an attempt to find love in the ​​Mallorcan sun this summer.

Even before the series kicks off on Monday (5 June), the new contestant has found himself in hot water.

Resurfaced tweets – which were posted in 2014 when Fensom was 15 years old – saw the future Love Island star use homophobic slurs and the word “gay” as an insult, Cosmopolitan UK reported.

The tweets have since been deleted.

Shortly afterwards, people on social media discovered Fensom’s former partner had uploaded a TikTok video claiming he cheated on her and was “controlling”. 

Breaking his silence, Fensom said it was “really unfortunate” the tweets were brought up because that “isn’t the person that [he is] today”, the Huffington Post reported. 

“Looking back on those tweets, I was really naïve and really young to think that was the right thing to say,” Fensom said. “It’s obviously not the right thing to say on my behalf … That’s pretty much it really.”

Fensom said he’s continuing to learn and called on those saying he’s “not right for the villa” to remember that “everyone’s made mistakes”.

“Everyone has said things that they regret,” he said. “The difference in the way that I’ll defend myself is the way that I’m owning that and I’ve admitted that that was the wrong thing to say.”

The Love Island star continued: “And actually, if I could turn back time then I wouldn’t have said the things that I said. That’s all I can do to defend myself and say in this scenario.”

George Fensom added it’s “really unfortunate” and “actually quite upsetting” to see the accusations made by his ex via TikTok. 

He says he wants to move “forward with things”, provide a “new wave of energy” and “prove that the things that have been written about [him] aren’t true” when he enters the villa. 

Speaking to The Sun, Fensom said he didn’t feel like he had a “point to prove” and that his “game plan” is to go into the villa “just being exactly as [he is] on the outside”. 

“I don’t need to act a certain way or dress a certain way or talk a certain way or change my vocabulary to impress people,” he said. 

“I’m just going to go in there with an open mind, and just be me and hopefully people will realise that is me. And that’s my game plan going in.”

Love Island starts on ITV2 on Monday 5 June.