Love Island USA‘s Kendall wasn’t the most popular houseguest in Casa Amor. But after his phone got hacked leaking explicit images to the public without his consent, the reality TV star faced a wave of online vitriol, including homophobic slurs.
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Kendall Washington finished Love Island USA season 6 after he re-coupled with Nicole Jacky. While he’s been accused of breaking up with his ex to get onto the dating show in the first place, he unfairly faced the wrath of the internet when multiple sexually explicit videos of him started making the rounds (it’s unconfirmed who leaked the material in the first place).
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Worse still, he initially couldn’t access his phone to defend himself, but it seems like he finally has access now and took to Instagram stories to respond. “What a way to get my phone back y’all. just want to address the content that came out from my past,” he wrote.
“That was something I shared to someone in confidence and trust,” he continued. “It’s unfortunate that it’s no longer private, but it is what it is. I want to thank you all for the calls/texts to support me during this time. I am so grateful for my Love Island experience and I love you all for tuning in to watch my journey.”
Support is right. So many fans took to social media to rally around Kendall, saying that while they weren’t a fan of his on the show, “using that to post homophobic shit is not okay and 2. Just cuz a man enjoys buttplay does not mean he’s gay…that’s all,” tweeted one.
Kendall’s sister Taylor also took to social media to defend her sibling. “@LoveIsland I really hope yall have serious mental health resources in place for him so he doesn’t come back from the high of this experience to seeing he’s been unfairly exposed on top of general reality TV backlash,” she wrote in her story. “If y’all have a history of suicide from people being on your show, I’d really hope you all get a handle on this expeditiously.”
