Laura Whitmore has hit back at claims she landed her hosting role on Love Island because of her husband Iain Stirling.
Former contestant Rachel Finni made the harsh comments on Murad Merali’s YouTube channel, in which she slated Laura’s presenting skills.
Speaking about the upcoming series, she said: “I’m kind of gutted Laura Whitmore is hosting it though, I thought we’d get a Maya Jama or AJ Odudu.”
“The benefits you get from being married to the narrator, cos let’s be honest she’s not a great host.”
“When you think Love Island you don’t think Laura Whitmore,” the 29-year-old added.Â
During a Q&A on Instagram on Friday, the Irish presenter responded to Rachel’s accusation, and insisted she’s “never got a job because of a guy”.
Laura said: “I’m not going to give too much energy to it because there’s always stuff like this and you kind of just brush it off, but I think we need to be careful when we discuss women and their work…”
“I’ve worked in telly for 14 years. I won a competition to be the face of MTV and have stayed working from job to job,” she continued.
“I’ve done incredible things all over the world, I’ve worked with the best teams, but I’ve never got a job because of a guy I dated.”
“And it’s horrible when you see if coming from other women because for so many years women have talked about who they are going out with.”
“They’re only defined by who they are going out with, despite all the work and build up leading up to that and they are their own individual person, with their own experience.”
“It’s a shame because I think we’re never really going to have full power and empowerment as a sex if we keep doing that,” she added.
Laura took over as host of Love Island in 2020, after the late Caroline Flack stepped down from the role.
