Branding a man that's done you dirty as a "community penis"? Instant Love Island icon status, unlocked.
As we've seen time and time again, (most of) the boys on the current series of ITV's big name dating show are in need of being taken down a notch or two (not you Will, you can keep doing you).
The vast majority of the lads lads lads are getting way too comfortable, heads are swivelling all over the shop and they've had a run of new female bombshells to take their pick from.
One such newcomer has been Zara, and she's certainly made her mark since strutting her incredible stuff into the famous villa. But despite bringing Maura-levels of drama to a previously quiet series, Zara's had to work overtime to get the backing of her fellow Islanders and to win over some of the viewers at home.
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The on-screen drama between herself and Olivia – apparently they knew each other before they each turned up in their Love Island bikinis – largely stemmed from their joint interest in Tom.
Disappointingly, the girls decided to score points between themselves rather than turning their beef outward and looking at the behaviour of the man in their triangle.
Viewers followed suit, and it became a game of backing Team Olivia or Team Zara – an exhausting repeat of our nasty habit of pitting women against each other.
Now, Tom's antics have become clear to the whole villa, after word started to spread about his terrace kiss with Ellie. Despite his assertions that it was 'just a kiss' and that he'd not cheated on anybody – which, in fairness to Tom, are both correct observations – it's key to note that the secret smooch happened just moments after he had told Olivia that he was still holding a flame for her.
In a near-perfect scene of television gold, Tom and Ellie's lip-lock cut straight to footage of Olivia telling her pals that she thought she and Tom would be giving things a go. Of course, secrets don't stay secrets for long in the villa (just ask Ekin-Su) and Will became the one to spill the beans.
It's a moment that should have vindicated Zara, who'd been experiencing Tom's wandering eye for quite some time. But up until this point, her feelings had been minimised and glossed over by others in the villa that were telling her that Tom had been good to her.
It's since been confirmed by Ofcom (via The Sun) that Love Island has seen almost 200 complaints in recent episodes, the majority of which relate to "alleged bullying and discriminatory treatment of Zara".
This followed a game of dares, which aired a few episodes ago. Many noted that it left Zara particularly upset – and with good reason. Tom, her partner at the time, chose Olivia's face over hers, and then another Islander pointed to Tom and Zara as being one of the least compatible couples.
Zara and Tom later came to a mutual decision to call it quits, which is what prompted the Ellie/Olivia/Tom situation.
Everything came to a head during Tuesday night's episode (January 31) when Zara delivered the "bad boy piece of information" to Olivia in a moment of pure girl power.
Ellie, Olivia and Zara then all had their say to a defensive Tom. But it was Zara's summary that provoked the biggest response, and she was the only one not to get an apology the next day.
Some of the online reactions to Zara's approaches have had racial undertones, feeding tropes that can see Black or non-white people labelled as 'aggressive' or 'angry' for responding to their experiences.
When it's considered that Love Island's Black and non-white contestants (particularly its women) have historically not always been treated kindly during their time on the show, this leaves a particularly sour taste.
But then there are also plenty of people heaping on the praise for Zara's outstanding moves in the villa – ourselves included.
As of time of writing, there's a re-coupling and a dumping looming. The boys get to pick, and by many viewers' calculations, it's not looking good for Zara. But if Love Island were to lose one of its biggest and brightest personalities, we're certain that the current 2023 series will suffer for it.
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Love Island airs nightly on ITV2, and is available via catch up on ITVX and BritBox.
