Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore has called out a paparazzi photographer for following her and boyfriend Iain Stirling in an airport, where they were reunited for the first time since the death of Caroline Flack.
Laura – who is in a relationship with the ITV2 show’s narrator – detailed the incident on Twitter, claiming that despite both herself and Iain requesting that the photographer give them some privacy, he refused to do so.
She explained: “I landed in Cape Town this morning and it is the first time I’ve been with Iain since Caroline passed away. It’s been really hard being apart.
“At the airport a photographer took pictures of [us] both and we tried to ignore it, but he continued to follow us so we got coffee and left the building.”
Laura continued: “So I asked him to stop as he had what he wanted. I said we were mourning a friend and could he allow us some space. He said ‘can you give me a reaction. It’s a public space I can take pictures if I want’.”
The presenter added that she has “never courted the paparazzi” but “understands at work events it comes with the territory”, adding: “But this morning was too much. Iain filmed him and he didn’t like it.
“I don’t like attacking people but we need to call people out when they do things like this. Iain and I just wanted some privacy.”
This post was accompanied by a minute-long video of Laura and Iain confronting the photographer in question, after which he walks away in frustration, only to turn around and take their photo at the end of the clip.
Since Caroline’s suicide over the weekend, both Laura and Iain have paid tribute to their colleague and friend in their own way, with the former delivering a powerful speech on her 5 Live radio show about the need for us all to be kinder to one another.
“Anyone who has ever compared one woman against another on Twitter, knocked someone because of their appearance, invaded someone’s privacy, who’ve made mean, unnecessary comments on an online forum need to look at themselves,” she said.
“To the press, the newspapers who create clickbait, who demonise and tear down success, we’ve had enough.
“I’ve seen journalists and Twitter warriors talk of this tragedy, who they themselves have twisted what the truth is. You don’t have to tear someone down to feel good about yourself.
“So to listeners, be kind. Only you are responsible for how you treat others and what you put out in the world. I’ve had messages, I’ve been harassed for just doing my job, and this is where the problem is. I want to use my platform – this platform – to call people out, because it’s gone too far. Your words affect people.
“To paparazzi and tabloids looking for a cheap sell, to trolls hiding behind a keyboard: enough.”