Love Island race row erupts as viewers brand pairings voted for by the public ‘segregation’

LOVE Island is already embroiled in a race row after viewers branded the new pairings as "segregation."

A backlash erupted on social media last night as the four black contestants were paired up by a public vote.

The opening episode saw Indiyah Polack, 22 and Ikenna Ekwonna, 23, put together as well as Amber Beckford, 24, and Dami Hope, 26.

The other six white contestants were paired up together.

On Twitter viewers railed: "So they've essentially segregated the couples as two black couples and three white couples...is this what I'm getting?"

Another Tweeted: "Who came up with this idea of people voting couples together? We literally asked to put (in) black men that like black girls, not force black couples together."

This is the first year that the coupling up process that always starts a new series has been decided by a public vote.

Previously the contestants have been allowed to pick their own partner based on what the individuals they were greeted by when they arrived in the villa.

The race row comes after viewers complained that many of the black and mixed race men who went on the show tended to go for white girls rather than black or mixed race girls.

That often led to a disproportionate number of non-white contestants being left out of pairings which led to them having to leave the villa.

But the new arrangement has also enraged some viewers who feel the pairings set a bad example.

One Tweeter said: Another said: "Why have we put all black people in couples with each other? Interracial couples exist you know."

Another black woman said: "this is literally the feeling when people at work couple you and the only other black guy."