Love Island star Tasha calls out trolls mocking her “deaf accent”

Love Island finalist Tasha Ghouri showed pure class while educating a misguided TikToker who called her deaf accent “annoying”.

Ghouri rose to prominence during Love Island’s eighth season where she placed fourth alongside her current boyfriend Andrew LePage. The model and activist was the show’s first-ever deaf contestant.

She became a fan-favorite during her run on the show, overcoming a number of troubles with her partner. The two say that their relationship works much better outside the villa.

Ghouri has been an outspoken activist for the deaf community and while most Love Island fans admire her, she’s not without detractors. In a recent TikTok, Ghouri took the time to inform her audience about the harms of mocking the deaf accent.

Responding to a comment from a TikTok user who said “She has the same annoying voice as Tasha”, Ghouri showed tremendous compassion. “I try not to respond to comments like this,” she said. “But I try and use my platform to educate.”

“For the deaf community, we all have something that’s called a deaf accent,” she explained. “It’s something that we’re born with and something that we cannot help.”

She went on to show footage of her father assisting her with speech therapy after receiving a Cochlear Implant which helps deaf people hear. She was moved almost to tears when explaining how far she had come with her speech since the footage was captured.

Ghouri explained that part of the reason she applied for Love Island was to try and bring visibility to the deaf community. “Think before you say,” she urged viewers. “You never know how much words can hurt people.”

Luckily Tasha has developed a thick skin since her time on Love Island where she spent a brief period under the microscope of some less-than-kind viewers. “I can take it on the chin,” she said. “There’s other people who may not be able to take it as well.”

Tasha has experienced massive success in her time after Love Island and continued to advocate for the deaf community. Prior to filming, she almost landed a role in the recent Barbie film as a dancer. She turned it down for the reality show which resulted in the platform she has now.