Winter Love Island hopeful Ollie Williams has come under fire from fans on social media after it was claimed that he’s the boss of a hunting firm.
The 23-year-old, who is heir to the vast Lanhydrock estate in Cornwall, is reportedly the director of a company called Cornish Sporting Agency.
And photos he uploaded to Instagram appeared to show him posing with animals he’d killed.
The pictures have now been deleted, but the revelation has left a sour taste in the mouths of viewers.
According to The Sun, the Instagram pictures were captioned with comments like: “Another happy client with his awesome eland bull! Enquire on the website today!”
Like the photos, the company’s website has also been taken down since Ollie was announced as a contestant on Love Island, the winter series of which starts tomorrow night.
He can deny all he wants, but the pics don’t lie. Please don’t support someone like this.
But for many viewers, the damage has already been done, and a number of them are fuming about the news.
Twitter has been rife with comments calling for Ollie to be removed from the ITV show.
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One viewer spat: “That Ollie Williams on the new Love Island series is a trophy hunter and has loads of pics of him next to endangered animals he’s killed, and he’s going on Love Island??? Boot him off – doesn’t deserve a platform.”
that ollie williams on the new love island series is a trophy hunter and has loads of pics of him next to endangered animals he’s killed , and he’s going on love island ??? boot him off doesn’t deserve a platform
— Kellyann Angioy (@kellyannangioy) January 11, 2020
Another demanded: “@loveisland Please remove Ollie Williams from the show. He can deny all he wants, but the pics don’t lie. Please don’t support someone like this. It will say a lot about you all if he remains on the show.”
And a third said: “Ollie Williams is a bloodthirsty game hunter. Kick the sicko off the programme.”
@LoveIsland please remove Ollie Williams from the show. He can deny all he wants, but the pics don’t lie. Please don’t support someone like this. It will say a lot about you all if he remains on the show. #loveisland #olliewilliamsisgross
— Jen (@illtakebourbon) January 11, 2020
Love Island Toff (read NOB head) Ollie Williams is a blood thirsty game hunter kick the sicko off the programme 🤬
— Fiendish_Swine (@Fiendish_Swine) January 11, 2020
A source close to Ollie has defended him, saying: “It is categorically untrue to suggest Ollie is involved in hunting for sport. Ollie is a passionate conservationist and worked with an anti-poaching unit in Mozambique.
“Conservation is crucial to the survival of animals, and as part of that work Ollie was involved in the culling of sick animals who were a threat to the health of the herd.
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“There is a very big and important difference between trophy hunting and the conversation work Ollie has previously been involved in. At no point has Ollie organised or booked anybody to go to Africa to shoot game.”
In his entry interview for the ITV show, Ollie revealed that he’d been expelled from school as a kid.
He admitted: “I went off to a school and within seven weeks I was expelled. I stole this kid’s conker.
“I had the best conker in the school. I’d bathed it in vinegar and stuff, and he stole it. So, I got him and I shook him and my conker fell out of his pocket, and then I dropped him.”
ED! has contacted reps for Love Island for comment.
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