'Love Island' Star Kendall Exposed in Leaked Video, Sister Comes to His Defense
"If y'all have a history of suicide from people being on your show I'd really hope you all got a handle on this expeditiously."
Updated July 22 2024, 5:43 p.m. ET
Just hours after the finale of Love Island USA Season 6 aired, an NSFW video featuring one of its cast members leaked online.
Kendall Washington came in fourth place with his partner Nicole Jacky on the Peacock reality series. Still, he was trending on social media for a personal video that was sadly released without his consent.
It wasn't long before his sister, Taylor, took to Instagram to defend her brother and address how contestants' mental health needs to be a priority.
Kendall's sister says her brother was "unfairly exposed."
In a lengthy post on her Instagram, Kendall's sister Taylor spoke out about the leak of a private home video featuring her brother, who had yet to get his phone back from production.
"I do not have the capacity to respond to everyone individually, but I appreciate everyone reaching out concerned about Kendall's mental health," she wrote. "I am too."
She went on to share how she reached out to Love Island USA directly and urged them to provide mental health services to its contestants.
"I really hope y'all have serious mental health resources in place for him so he doesn't come back from the high of this experience to seeing he's been unfairly exposed on top of general reality TV backlash," she continued. "If y'all have a history of suicide from people being on your show I'd really hope you all got a handle on this expeditiously."
Kendall's former co-star Caine Bacon also spoke out about the leaked video on TikTok despite not seeing Kendall's video personally.
"While that might be funny for some of you, it's actually quite a serious matter," he told his followers. "Whoever did expose the [video] generally should get justice served because it's actually quite a serious crime and I hope karma comes back around."
On Monday, July 22, Kendall spoke out about the leaked video.
"I just want to address the content that came out from my past. That was something I shared to someone in confidence and trust," he wrote on an Instagram story. "It's unfortunate that it's no longer private but it is what it is. I want to thank you all for the calls /texts to support me during this time. I am grateful for my Love Island experience and I love you all for tuning in to watch my journey. Excited for what's next."
There have been several mental health-related deaths on 'Love Island.'
In 2018, former Love Island UK contestant Sophie Gradon died by suicide following her appearance on the reality series. Her boyfriend completed suicide 20 days following her death.
Mike Thalassitis, who appeared on Love Island UK in 2017, died by suicide in 2019.
Both Sophie and Mike experienced intense online bullying and negative media coverage leading up to their deaths.
Love Island UK host Caroline Flack also completed suicide in 2020. In 2023, ITV did share details on the care provided to contestants before, during, and after filming including having contestants pause social media activity during filming and training around behavior in relationships.
Caroline Flack in 2019.
"Ahead of entering the Villa, Islanders will also receive guidance and training around mutually respective behavior in relationships. Participants will be offered resource links to read up on, in advance of meeting their fellow Islanders, to help them identify negative behaviors in relationships and understand the behavior patterns associated with controlling and coercive behavior," ITV said in a statement.
Prospective Islanders will also watch a video featuring former contestants dealing with issues such as "how to cope being filmed 24/7, the interaction they will have with producers in the Villa, the support provided to family members, dealing with social media trolling, and adapting to life away from the show," per Glamour.
