We decided to not go ahead with our usual Love Island Round Up piece that covers the antics of the past week in the villa. This is partly to show solidarity with ITV’s decision not to broadcast Love Island on Sunday night, and it is also because we feel like discussing the trivialities of the show is a bit ridiculous in the face of such a tragic event. For those of you that missed it, Ian Sterling read a beautiful tribute at the beginning of Monday night’s episode which is worth checking out.

Everyone will have, by now, heard of the sad passing of Caroline Flack. For those that didn’t know her Caroline Flack was a TV presenter and was well known for presenting The Xtra Factor and Love Island since its reboot in 2015, she also gained further esteem by winning the 20th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2014. But many people will not remember much about her apart from the negativity that has been published about her in the media over the last few months.

In December 2019, Caroline announced that she would be stepping down from hosting Love Island, this was due to the legal battle that she was currently involved in. The Crown Prosecution Service had charged her with assaulting her partner, tennis player Lewis Burton, and it was due to go to trial in a few weeks. Following the outbreak of this news, Caroline Flack quickly resigned from her role as the presenter for Love Island. On Saturday afternoon the sad news was spread across the internet and the media like wildfire, Caroline Flack had taken her own life and had died.

No matter who they are, to hear of anyone committing suicide is truly shocking. Many of us have had times where our mental health has suffered, or where we have felt a bit blue, or some may have even suffered – or are suffering – from depression or anxiety. Mental health is a prevalent disease in the modern day. To see someone to have suffered to the point where they couldn’t take it anymore is heartbreaking.

“I have seen the phrase ‘coward’s way out’ on posts about suicide too many times. Death by illness is a death by illness. Shaming people with those feelings does not help them stay in the world. But who knows, empathy just might.” – Matt Haig, Twitter.

Caroline Flack was not an uber-celebrity, nor an ‘A-Lister’ which is what makes this news more difficult to stomach; she was a normal woman. Laura Whitmore paid a tribute to her close friend on her radio show; she loved to laugh, she loved to love, hence why Love Island was so important to her, and she loved to dance. Caroline Flack was not perfect, but who is?

The internet has made people brave and has allowed people to act without consequences and it can’t continue, this includes the media and the British press. “Be kind” is an expression circulating on the internet in the wake of Caroline’s death. But just remember that you do not have to be kind all the time, you don’t have to like everyone, you just don’t have to share your opinions all of the time. We have lost the ability to hold back and keep our opinions to ourselves. Caroline Flack wasn’t perfect, but she certainly did not need to hear about these imperfections on a daily basis.

Abuse and constant criticism should not be seen as a prerequisite to being a celebrity, or working in the entertainment industry, or having an online presence, or for just trying to live your life. If you agree with the sentiment that things need to change, and are feeling angry and upset over the unnecessary and tragic death of Caroline Flack then consider signing this petition titled Caroline’s Law. The petition aims to make it a criminal offence for the British media to “knowingly and relentlessly bully a person, whether they be in the public eye or not, up to the point that they take their own life.” At the time of writing this petition has received 734,755 of the required 800,000 signatures – so you could really make a difference by signing.

If you are yourself struggling with your mental health and you need someone to talk to then remember that The Samaritans are available to talk to for free at any time of the day or night on 116 123, or if you prefer you can email them at jo@samaritans.org

Word by Mollie Kate Cohen

#BeKind

Illustration by Natalie Hapeshi