A few days before the launch of the second season of the reality show the island of love at TVA, a candidate was ousted by the production following he was the subject of numerous denunciations on social networks.
“Although all Islanders were subjected to criminal background checks which revealed nothing, the allegations reported [jeudi] were taken very seriously. Productions Déferlantes and Quebecor Content have made the decision to put an end to Adam’s career as of now, ”announced the production team on its social networks Thursday evening.
She had just revealed the same morning the identity of the first five candidates who would fly to Las Terrenas, in the Dominican Republic, in order to find love there.
The presence among them of Adam, 22, from Mont-Saint-Hilaire, quickly raised a wave of public discontent. Within hours, criticism regarding him multiplied on Instagram and TikTok. Several women have denounced his behavior as “toxic” and “dangerous”, alleging that they have already been “harassed” by the young man.
Productions Déferlantes and Quebecor Content preferred to exclude Adam from the adventure. His portrait was deleted in the process on the website and social networks of the show.
In an email sent to To have to Friday, the production team insists on its rigorous approach to check the background of the candidates, which includes among other things “research on social networks”. In addition, each candidate is required to meet with a psychologist for an assessment during the selection process.
It is specified that since the recordings have not yet started, the departure of Adam “will have no impact on the broadcast of the show”, which begins on April 18 on the airwaves of TVA.
Not the first, not the last
This is not the first time that a candidate for a reality show has seen his participation questioned in this way. Last fall, Alexandre Patry Poirier was also subject denunciations on social networks when viewers discovered his presence in the edition ofOccupation double in Western Canada.
From the first days, the production team had themselves observed his “aggressive” behavior and had to intervene to call him to order, before excluding him definitively from reality TV.
“I am not at all surprised that the audience of reality shows reveals toxic, violent behavior or sexual assault regarding a candidate,” says Mélanie Millette, professor in the Department of Social and Public Communication at UQAM. She even thinks that now we have to get used to it.
Since the first wave of the movement #MoiAussi, she notes, society seeks to deconstruct toxic norms and abuses of all kinds that have long been “tolerated, hidden, even normalized.” It has now become a reflex for many to turn to social media to denounce such reprehensible behavior.
But we must not see these denunciations as “a simple culture of cancellation aimed at condemning a candidate”, specifies his colleague at the School of Media at UQAM Stéfany Boisvert. “It’s more of a social involvement on the part of viewers who want to warn the broadcasters, the public and make sure that the other candidates will not experience problematic situations. We are, following all, talking regarding shows that focus on dating. »
According to the experts consulted by The duty, the increase in denunciations from viewers should lead producers to review their candidate selection practices. “That should perhaps encourage them to allocate more time for research on social networks, or for psychological evaluation, which is often done much too quickly,” says Ms.me Boisvert.
However, even with a more rigorous process, it is impossible to see everything, to guess everything, she concedes. It will therefore be necessary to accept the unforeseen events which might upset the castingbut also to design the fact that the public now has an active participation in the selection of candidates, in its own way.