Sharon Gaffka has discussed the lack of Asian representation on Love Island, confessing she felt like she was only there to 'tick a box'.
The former Love Island star, 25, claimed that none of the boys in the villa fancied Asian girls, meaning that the few that were on the show didn't last long before being dumped.
Speaking on the Secure the Insecure podcast, she said she had high expectations of her series' diversity, but later felt like she wasn't 'given an equal chance'.
Token: Sharon Gaffka has discussed the lack of Asian representation on Love Island, confessing to have felt like she was only there to 'tick a box'
She said: 'I walked into the villa first and when Shannon [Singh] walked into the villa, I was like "yeah, this year's going to be so different," because in the line-up there was Shannon, Faye [Winter], Kaz [Kwami, me and Lib [Liberty Poole] and we were all so different, and it felt like this year was going to be a little bit different.'
But she admitted: 'I feel like Asian women were taken were taken as a token or a tick box in this series.
'You know when you look back at the four Asian women that walked through those doors, they barely good a look in. So, myself, Shannon, Priya [Gopaldas] and AJ [Bunker]. That was the four Asian contestants from series seven of Love Island.
'I don't feel like any of us were given an equal chance at anything. It's all well and good having a diverse line-up but if there isn't diversity in what people find attractive then you've completely missed the mark and kind of wasted everyone's time.'
Disappointed: The former Love Island star, 25, claimed that none of the boys in the villa fancied Asian girls, meaning that the few that were on the show didn't last long before being dumped
She went on: 'I felt like I was scapegoated for a tick box 95 percent of the time I was in the villa. It was so nice to have me and another Asian contestant Shannon there for the first couple of days but she was booted off within 24 hours and then AJ, I don't know how long AJ was in there for but Priya wasn't in there for very long either.'
Sharon continued to say that she was thankful for the opportunity to go on Love Island, but that it had come at a price.
She said: 'It's hard because you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you and I'm grateful to Love Island for giving me that experience but at the same time at what expense? At what expense to my race, to my culture, and to my personality and culture?
'I made a positive contribution to the show in that a lot of Asian women have reached out to me and said thanks for being a representation on the show. Or, a lot of people from the queer community, for example, because I had conversations about coming out as bisexual on the show.'
High hopes: Sharon said she said she had high expectations of her series' diversity when she arrived (pictured L-R Liberty Poole, Sharon, Kaz Kamwi, Faye Winter and Shannon Singh)
She then went on to say that the issue lay in the fact that the men in the villa didn't fancy Asian girls.
'I'm going to be quite frank, she explained. 'No boy that went through that villa liked Asian girls. So what was the point of putting four Asian girls in there when you know damn well that no one will like them, no one will fancy them.
'And then
