Laura Whitmore opens up about scrutiny she goes through as a woman in showbiz

Whitmore, 37, has been hosting Love Island since 2019 after the tragic death of Caroline Flack. She has now revealed the hard times she's been through as a result of the constant scrutiny on social media.

427 viewer complaints

Speaking candidly on the Distraction Pieces podcast, Whitmore revealed that things got unnecessarily intense after she made comments about Ekin-Su during an episode of Aftersun, that fans did not agree with. As it turns out, 427 viewers complained to Ofcom and the hate she got online became increasingly unbearable for the host. She explained:

With stuff with Love Island, it’s just a bit exhausting sometimes because some of the stuff is just mental. As a host, this takes up not a huge amount of my time compared to my other work. It’s over eight weeks. The host only comes on three or four times, it’s always been the way, but it gets the most attention. It’s a bit exhausting and it’s tough.

And added:

I saw when Caroline worked on the show what she got every year and I never knew how she handled it. I always thought, ‘Jesus, she’s so strong.’ And people aren’t as strong as you think they are.I get that some of it you have to take with a pinch of salt, but then some of it is a bit exhausting

'My male counterparts are not being talked about in the same way'

She also went on to say that she's noticed that male TV presenters don't go through the same scrutiny and constant policing as she does. She added:

I’m very aware that not everyone gets talked about in the same way.My male co-presenters – it was always talked about what I was wearing when I started working – no one’s talking about what they’re wearing. They’re not getting this.

Before adding:

Meanwhile, the outside world will talk about how you look, what you’re wearing, who you’re dating, do you have a child, should you be doing this and all these things are talked about constantly. I see my male counterparts not being talked about in the same way and that’s hard and unfair.

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