Love Island contestant Priya Jaswal has been widely criticized as "vile, classist and tone deaf" following an outburst where she appeared to "job-shame" co-star Elicia Bailey over her employment with National Rail.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night after Jaswal, a business development manager, saw a clip on the spin-off show Aftersun where Bailey, a team organizer for National Rail, called Jaswal the "biggest game player" in the villa. In response, Jaswal launched into a tangent about Bailey's job, stating, "I don't care what Elicia says. It's cringy... Go back to the National Rail. Elicia, you work for the National Rail, why are you f***ing sitting in After Sun?... But just go back there and save your breath."
These comments quickly generated outrage on social media platform X, with numerous viewers expressing their anger and calling for Jaswal's removal from the show. "'Go back to the national rail' may seriously be one of the most disgusting things said on love island, get priya off now," one widely shared post read.
Other viewers defended Bailey's profession, emphasizing that all honest work deserves respect. "Every honest job deserves respect, and judging someone's career says more about the person doing the judging than the person earning a living," another comment stated. Many highlighted the vital role of railway workers, noting, "Railway workers literally keep Britain running and Priya's job shaming them??" Some suggested that Jaswal's remarks reflected a shallow mindset and could jeopardize potential brand deals.
During Jaswal's rant, fellow contestant Kavan, Aidan Murphy's brother, interjected to defend National Rail employment, saying, "There's nothing wrong with working for National Rail, alright?" However, other Islanders, Jasmine Müller and Mica Harris, reportedly giggled at Jaswal's remarks, which drew further criticism.
Jaswal's partner, Aidan Murphy, later addressed the comments with her, attempting to explain the issues with her remarks about Bailey's job. Jaswal's response to the criticism included the statement, "She's bitter, she can keep that sour taste in her mouth. Jealousy is a disease, get well soon."
This controversy follows a recent period of heightened scrutiny for Love Island, which reportedly received 534 Ofcom complaints in the week prior. These complaints were related to four episodes and included allegations of "women-hating." Specifically, the "Movie Night" episode garnered 197 complaints, and the boys' return from Casa Amor received 167 complaints.