Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Love Island glamour damages teen lives’ 16-PAGE RACING PULLOUT EVERY SATURDAY
Comic Russell blasts reality TV shows
RUSSELL Howard has blasted reality shows like Love Island and Naked Attraction for ruining teenagers’ idea of how they should look.
The comic, 38, spoke out about the pressures youngsters now face to strive to achieve “impossible glamour”.
He said: “It must be so hard being young, because you’re constantly looking for love, desperate to be noticed – and everyone on TV now is absolutely beautiful. The way we teach kids about love on TV is messed up, because all that matters is the way you look.
“I mean, look at Love Island. In case you’ve never seen it, it’s basically, ‘I got boobies. I got muscles. Is Brexit a cabbage?’. On these shows, it doesn’t matter what you say or do or think or feel. All that matters – are you beach body ready? I hate that phrase.
“Christ have you seen Naked Attraction? C**ks out! T**s out! Pick a winner! “And it’s always the best looking. These TV shows are messing up young people, making them think the only thing worth developing is their body. “We wonder why kids are airbrushing themselves on Instagram, why a quarter of 14-year-old girls in the UK self harm, why a third of young women don’t go for a smear test because they’re embarrassed about the shape of their vagina. “All programmes like Love Island show is this world of impossible glamour.” Speaking during the recording of The Russell Howard Hour, he also attacked Piers Morgan. He said Good Morning Britain was “pantomime bull **** ” and Morgan had “turned the news into just bellowing at someone first thing in the morning”. He added: “It’s like, ‘give me 10 minutes and I’ll get angry’.” The Russell Howard Hour is on tonight, at 10pm, on Sky One.
The way we teach kids about love is messed up, as all that matters is how you look RUSSELL HOWARD ON TV SHOWS’ IMPACT ON YOUNG PEOPLE