Friends of Priya Gopaldas have hit out at racist trolls who have targeted the Love Island bombshell after she made her choice in the latest recoupling.
The 23-year-old medical student is a newcomer to the villa and she chose to couple with fellow bombshell Brett Staniland, leaving fan favourite Matt McNabb to pack his bags as he was dumped from the villa.
Priya was subsequently targeted with "racist comments" and now her friends have hit out at the trolls in the wake of Love Island producers speaking out about trolling.
Posting on Priya's Instagram stories, her friends wrote: "Morning all. We understand everyone has their own views on what happens on the show. However we need to remind you guys that racist comments and trolling is unacceptable!
"Please remember to be kind. Thank you to all the lovely messages that have been sent supporting Priya. Priya's gals xxx."
Priya had arrived in the villa alongside fellow bombshell Aaron Simpson and seemed to be getting close to Matt, who she chose to take on her first dates.
The pair seemed to have a budding romance but the arrival of Brett say Priya jump ship and put her eggs in Brett's basket.
The sudden announcement of a recoupling forced Priya to make a decision and it was bad news for Matt.
Explaining her decision at the recoupling, Priya said: "I feel like with one of the boys, conversation flows really easily. I’m really comfortable with him and it helps that I could stare into his eyes all day. So the boy I’d like to couple up with is… Brett."
She added later: "It’s bittersweet because Matt is such a good guy… I just hope I haven’t made a mistake."
It has been a series in which trolls have posted racist comments about Islander Kaz Kamwi, as well as target Chloe Burrows with a flurry of cruel comments.
This prompted Love Island bosses to release a statement in which they addressed the trolls who had targeted those on the show.
It read: "We want Love Island to be a positive experience for all of our cast and their friends and family members."
They went on to say that some viewers' posts were "wholly unacceptable," and reminded fans of the show that they take the trolling "extremely seriously and will support cast members and their family."
*Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub. Episodes are available the following morning on BritBox.
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