ITV2Ollie Williams, who recently quit Love Island after just three days on the show, has broken his silence on accusations that he was involved in trophy hunting.
Before he even entered the South African villa, the 23-year-old caused quite the stir when pictures emerged appearing to show him posing with dead animals.
Ollie, the heir to the Lanhydrock Estate in Cornwall, was the subject of a petition to remove him from the ITV2 show, and his presence in the villa led to 231 Ofcom complaints.
ITV2He quit the show after claiming he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, although many viewers thought his departure was really down to the controversy surrounding the images.
Regardless of his reasoning, his departure was met with glee from thousands of social media users who slammed ITV for allowing a possible trophy hunter the opportunity to take part in the show in the first place.
Now though, Ollie has addressed the accusations of trophy hunting and has denied killing the animals shown in the photos, which were obtained by The Sun.
ITV2Speaking the day after his departure aired on TV, Ollie said, as per The Mirror:
Having left the Love Island house I have become aware of the press stories circulating in the UK. I would like to make a number of comments on the various claims and accusations.
I had no knowledge of the stories until I had left the Love Island villa and all cast members are unaware of any news stories while they are on the programme. My reasons for leaving Love Island are as communicated on the show.
I did not shoot any of the animals shown in the photographs nor have I ever shot as a trophy hunter. I did volunteer to take part in the conservation and anti-poaching programme in Mozambique, a part off which involves old or sick animals being culled. I was there as an observer.
I feel very passionately about conservation and will continue to support sustainable conservation causes around the globe. These benefit the natural world and the animals which live within it, even if certain elements appear controversial when viewed out of context.
Ollie better be the first one out of love island if he’s sat there shooting CRITICALLY endangered & partially extinct animals & have his own hunting company. Honestly disgusted LMFAOO, we should be saving the animals not shooting them for banter or a trophy 🥴🥴🥴 #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/RahGrmPUCF
— 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 (@rosaaviolett) January 11, 2020
He added that as he is no longer a part of Love Island, he will not be commenting any further on the matter.
Love Island continues on ITV2 tonight at 9pm.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).