LOVE Island fans have slammed contestant Ben Holbrough after he called Shakira Khan “hard work" and said he doesn’t like girls who are "too much".
During last night's series 12 premiere, taxi driver Ben, 23, told marketing professional Shakira, 25, her personality traits might not cut it for him.
As the pair walked to the den, Shakira asked: “What are you giggling at?”
Ben replied: “You.”
When she asked why, he said: “’Cos you’re hard work.”
Shakira appeared surprised and asked, “I’m hard work?” to which Ben replied, “Yeah.”
Shakira said: "That's me all over."
He replied: "You're a feisty one."
The exchange sparked backlash on social media, with many fans accusing Ben of showing red flags.
One wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Ben is giving massive red flags."
Another posted: “Shakira is in love with Ben [laughing emojis] Ben is giving red flags, I’m sorry [laughing emojis].”
A third wrote: "Ben saying he doesn’t want someone that’s too much to someone with a massive personality is soo funny to me."
Elsewhere in the installment, Shakira offended viewers within seconds after making a shock comment about 9-5 jobs.
Shakira entered the villa first alongside Meg Moore, 25, and the two ladies wasted no time getting to know each other.
Trying to learn what they both did for a living, Shakira set about telling Megan that she was “too glamorous for a 9-5” and must do something more exciting for a job.
Meg quickly set her straight revealing she was in fact a payroll specialist, with Shakira squealing that she was a "corporate girlie".
While the comment might have sounded innocent to some, viewers at home were not impressed.
One user wrote: "not too glamorous for a 9-5, oh dear". Another person asked: "what does 'too glamorous to do a 9-5' even mean?".
Someone else agreed, also wondering: "Too gorgeous to do a 9-5??? What does that mean?"
In a shock move, one singleton has already been booted out of the villa - and viewers are convinced they know who it is due to a big clue.
The girl was told to grab her case and go after the arrival of bombshell Antonia Laites - who will be known as Toni in the show.
In scenes yet to be aired, Toni - who is American - will make her dramatic entrance after all the islanders are coupled up.
She is told to get to know the boys before choosing one to couple up with - leaving his girl being handed a one-way ticket back to the UK.
- Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
