This story originally appeared on Them.
Love Island USA might be the summer reality show on everyone’s minds, but there’s something glaring missing in the eyes of host Ariana Madix: queer people.
While appearing on Cosmopolitan’s web chat series “Blind Date,” the Love Island USA host and former Vanderpump Rules star said that she would welcome a lot more LGBTQ+ faces on the flirty dating show.
“I’m dying for more queer representation on the show,” Madix said. “Queer representation is just representation.”
After Madix underscores her desire for more queer representation, the host asks her why there hasn’t been a queer relationship on the show, which prompts Madix to set the record straight.
@cosmopolitan And what Ariana Madix wants, she should get. #ArianaMadix #LoveIslandUSA #BlindDate ♬ original sound - Cosmopolitan
Madix explains that there have been queer couples on the show, including Kassy Castillo and Johnnie Garcia, who hooked up with each other on season five. Madix also pointed to Megan Barton Hanson and Kyra Green, who coupled up on the spinoff Love Island Games.
Despite these two examples, Love Island, which has many iterations in several countries, is usually a staunchly heterosexual affair. While producers have said they are open to having queer people on the show, at least one producer of one of the franchise’s installments has said that the logistics are what’s standing in the way.
"In terms of gay Islanders, I think the main challenge is regarding the format of Love Island,” Amanda Stavri, the commissioner for British network ITV, told Radio Times in 2021. “There's a sort of logistical difficulty, because although Islanders don't have to be 100% straight, the format must sort of give [the] Islanders an equal choice when coupling up.”
Though Stavri has said it is a problem of logistics, Madix made it clear that the show wouldn’t stop queer people from finding their soul mates.
“Listen, there’s no rules,” Madix said. “No producer is like, ‘You can’t.’”
While there haven’t been many queer relationships on the show, about 20 Love Island contestants have come out as LGBTQ+ across its many franchises.
During her time on “Blind Date,” Madix went further in speaking about queer representation and spoke about the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to stick content warnings on TV shows featuring transgender and nonbinary characters.
“I don’t really understand about how the FCC is now talking about putting warning labels in front of LGBTQ shows,” she said. “What the fuck are you doing? Queer people are a part of life.”
Several television stars, including fellow reality contestant Chrishell Stause, have spoken up against the proposal.
“Content warnings are usually saved for things that are actually harmful,” Stause said in an Instagram reel in May. She continued, “This isn’t a parental rights issue, this is a censorship issue.”
