The second season of I Kissed a Girl, a BBC reality dating show that placed queer women together in an Italian masseria, has become the centre of a controversy that began on 18 October. Contestant Lindsey Amelie uploaded a nearly ninety-minute video to YouTube, detailing experiences of racism, anti-Blackness and a alleged sexual assault that occurred after filming wrapped. Her testimony quickly reverberated across social media, prompting several other participants of colour to share similar grievances about how the programme was edited and how they were treated on-set.
The video that ignited the debate
In the YouTube record, Lindsey describes a production environment where both fellow cast members and crew members, she says, consistently excluded her. She notes that key conversations about her Black identity never made the final cut, despite being recorded in the villa. When producers questioned her reluctance to share a bed with her on-screen partner, she was met with probing remarks about her “intimacy boundaries.” As Lindsey put it, “One of the most exhausting things about experiencing racism is the expectation that you must always be prepared to explain it, prove it, soften it, and make it understandable to people who may never have to think about it themselves.”
Perhaps the most startling claim concerns a night spent at an Airbnb after production had ended. Lindsey says she blacked out after drinking, later being told by an unnamed cast member that they had had sex. She stresses that, because she could not recall the events, consent could not have been given. Her statement includes the line, “My sexuality is not up for debate.” While she did not name the individual involved, she affirmed that the incident left her feeling unsafe and unheard.
Allegations against production and fellow contestants
Lindsey asserts that the editing process deliberately omitted discussions about African identity, effectively erasing Black perspectives from the narrative. She recounts a moment when a discussion about “African identities” was cut, and when she confronted an executive producer, the response was dismissive: “Babe, if it was interesting it would have been included.” The video also details an episode where a castmate switched off an Amapiano track—a South African music style—after it had been playing, which Lindsey interpreted as a subtle act of cultural erasure.
Inter-personal tension is highlighted by an alleged comment from another contestant after Lindsey’s intimate encounter with a fellow participant: “You went and f***ed Lindsey. Disgusting. You’re disgusting. Did you even wash your hands?” Lindsey frames the remark as having a racial undertone, suggesting that the insult was not merely about hygiene. She also mentions a group chat incident where a participant was mocked for displaying a Malcolm X phone wallpaper, which prompted her to leave the conversation altogether.
Reactions from the BBC, the production company and other cast members
When asked for comment, a BBC spokesperson told Them that I Kissed a Girl “is, and always has been, a dating show with inclusivity at its heart” and that “the BBC and the producers of the show are taking these allegations extremely seriously and we do not tolerate discrimination of any form.” The production company Two Four echoed that sentiment, citing the broadcaster’s statement.
Several castmates posted supportive messages under Lindsey’s video. Sophie, Josie, and others wrote brief affirmations, while Almayra Shah, a queer Muslim participant, shared that her own conversations about queerness and Islam were reduced to a two-minute clip and that she faced Islamophobic backlash after the broadcast. Nikita, a contestant who finished the series in a relationship, described the edit as being filtered through “a white lens,” and Pippa, a non-binary bombshell, echoed that sentiment, calling the final cut “through a white cis lens.” Tyra, who identified herself as the person with the Malcolm X lock screen, disputed the hand-washing anecdote but agreed that the edit failed to fully represent contestants of colour.
Blessing, Lindsey’s on-screen partner, posted a TikTok statement on 20 October acknowledging the problem of racism on the set, while disputing some of the specific characterisations made by Lindsey. She nonetheless condemned any form of assault or discrimination, urging viewers to amplify Black women’s voices rather than silence them.
The cascade of social-media testimonies paints a picture of a production that may have sidelined Black narratives, questioned personal boundaries, and failed to protect participants from alleged sexual misconduct. The BBC’s public pledge to investigate the matter contrasts with the cast’s call for concrete accountability and more authentic representation.
