Ms Vanjie: ‘Love Island has no excuse for not including LGBTQ+ contestants – you can change the format’-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

Vanessa ‘Vanjie’ Mateo is confused by the lack of willingness from Love Island to include LGBTQ+ stars (Picture: Getty)

RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Vanessa ‘Vanjie’ Mateo isn’t impressed by Love Island’s excuse for not welcoming LGBTQ+ contestants.

Last year, ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri said including gay participants leads to ‘logistical difficulties’. ‘In terms of gay islanders, I think the main challenge is regarding the format of Love Island,’ she said.

‘There’s a sort of logistical difficulty because although Islanders don’t have to be 100% straight, the format must sort of give [the] Islanders an equal choice when coupling up.’

Vanjie has just launched his new queer dating competition/social experiment 24 Hours Of Love. The World Of Wonder show sees the performer thrown into a house with 18 male suitors for, you guessed it, 24 hours, in the hopes of finding his one true love.

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, a puzzled Vanjie was confused by the lack of willingness from Love Island bosses to make the show more inclusive for LGBTQ+ people.

‘What the hell does that mean?’ he exclaimed, referring to the phrase ‘logistical difficulties’.

Vanjie’s new dating show 24 Hours Of Love is streaming now (Picture: WoW)

The new show sees Vanjie thrown into a house with 18 male suitors (Picture: WoW)

‘You can change the format! She must not know too much. She might need somebody to help her understand how the world is working right now. I don’t know what she’s on about complicated. The only thing complicated is finding everybody out and making sure we got cameras to film it.’

‘We can definitely find some love,’ Vanjie continued, explaining: ‘If you just go through the right interview processes and right casting you can find the candidates to make a really great show. Plus we are very entertaining.

‘Either way, I see so many dating shows, and I think I would love to go on them and they all just be all gay people.’

Gay Love Island participants lead create ‘logistical difficulties’, according to ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri (Picture: ITV)

Vanjie has called for more queer dating shows (Picture: WoW)

Vanjie is more than aware that queer dating shows are still few and far between, even though it’s 2022. ‘There hasn’t been a lot,’ he continued. ‘I feel like sometimes they haven’t been taken very seriously.

‘We definitely need more dating shows for the queer community. I definitely could see an LGBTQ+ Bachelor happening. I feel like 24 Hours Of Love is a step in the right direction and it’s definitely something that’s going to be great TV.’

Vanjie promises 24 Hours In Love is full of funny faces, side-eyes, and people drinking (Picture: WoW)

Vanjie’s new show has been a long time coming. ‘It was talked about for a while, there were quite a lot of ideas,’ he said. ‘I’ve always been the person who wears their heart on their sleeve and they thought this would be a good thing for me. ‘

But dating in front of the camera with 18 different suitors at his fingertips wasn’t a walk in the park. ‘I’m definitely nervous when dating and even more nervous when there are cameras,’ he admitted.

More: Love Island

’With drag and stuff you have more control with how you present yourself, but when you’re on a date and meeting somebody, you’re putting your whole heart out you become very vulnerable. It’s nerve-wracking. Dating is awkward on its own, period.’

Speaking about what viewers can expect, he teased: ‘It’s going to be a lot of funny faces, side-eyes, and people drinking.’ Perfect.

Vanjie: 24 Hours In Love will premiere weekly at 20:00 BST from Thursday 9th June exclusively on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe here.

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