Love Island’s Haris breaks his silence on footage of him punching a reveller

Love Island’s Haris Namani has broken his silence on shocking footage that showed him punching a reveller in a street brawl after he was dumped from the villa.

The TV salesman, 21, admitted he was ‘devastated’ that the video emerged and insisted it is ‘not a reflection’ of his character as he spoke after his villa exit.

Speaking out: Love Island’s Haris Namani has broken his silence on shocking footage that showed him punching a reveller in a street brawl after he was dumped from the villa

Addressing the footage, Haris said it was a ‘heat of the moment’ incident and claimed that the video did not show everything that had happened. 

He said: ‘I’m devastated that this video has been seen, it’s not a reflection of my character.

‘I’m not someone that goes looking for fights and I didn’t want to be in that situation. This was a heat of the moment thing.

‘The video doesn’t show everything that happened. Afterwards we met up and we cleared the air; we’ve shaken hands and we get along now. It’s not something that would happen again.’

Upset: The TV salesman, 21, admitted he was ‘devastated’ that the video emerged and insisted it is ‘not a reflection’ of his character as he spoke after his villa exit 

Fight: The ITV2 show was plunged into chaos after a video surfaced on social media showing Haris landing blows on another party-goer in the street

Haris went on to speak about his villa row with Shaq, which saw the pair held apart by Islanders as they got into a blazing disagreement after a game of beer pong.

They almost came to blows in a tense stand-off as they boys had a debrief about the earlier challenge, with Haris commenting on David’s steamy kiss with Shaq’s partner Tanya, causing Shaq to brand him a ‘s**t stirrer’. 

Commenting on the row, Haris insisted that he is friends with Shaq now and said they got along for the rest of their time in the villa.

Drama: Haris went on to address his villa row with Shaq, which saw the pair separated by other Islanders as they got into a blazing disagreement after a game of beer pong 

Friends? They almost came to blows in a tense stand-off as they boys had a debrief about the earlier challenge but Haris insisted they are friends again  

He said: ‘Yeah [we’re friends]. I knew 100% nothing would have come from that disagreement and we would hug it out. I said sorry for my part and he said the same and that’s it. We were the first two in and we got along after that as normal.’

Australian bombshells Jessie and Aaron made the final decision after the results of the public vote revealed the bottom three girls and boys.

Dumped: It comes after Anna-May and Haris left the Love Island villa on Wednesday night after being dumped by their fellow Islanders 

Explaining their decision, Jessie told the Islanders gathered around the firepit that they has chosen ‘who we think has the most potential to continue to grow and develop and we personally t

hink that these two people have had a lot of opportunity but we don’t think there is any further for them to go.’

Earlier Jessie had insisted that she didn’t ‘want to break up a couple.’

Aaron and Jessie struggled to make their decision as when talking about one of the boys, Jessie said: ‘He’s like one of my best friends in here’.

Aaron replied: ‘I know, I actually like all of the guys, but you can’t think like that.’

Shock: Australian bombshells Jessie and Aaron made the final decision after the results of the public vote revealed the bottom three girls and boys 

Haris’ dumping from the ITV2 dating contest came after the shocking footage emerged showing him having a fight in a street brawl. 

But insiders told MailOnline that Haris left the villa as part of a planned eviction after a public vote and it is ‘just a coincidence that his departure came hours after the video was unearthed’.

A Love Island spokesperson added: ‘We would never comment on dumpings or show formats to avoid ruining the show for the viewers.’

In a distressing clip, taken last May in Doncaster, Haris sparred with his opponent, knocked him to the ground and shouted: ‘I’m not a bully… on my mum’s life’ while being encouraged by a friend behind the camera.

Upset: Haris’ dumping comes after shocking video footage emerged this week of the star in a street brawl last year before he entered the villa

Gone: The Islanders were shocked by Jessie and Aaron’s decision

After the video emerged on picture app Snapchat, it was published by The Sun.

A friend of Haris told the publication: ‘We were all surprised when we heard Haris was going on Love Island, he’s got quite a bit of a temper on him and if someone says something he’s more than prepared to have a fight. 

‘He’s got an advantage being a boxer and he knows he can cause damage because he trains four times a week, he knows what he is capable of because of his training. That kind of stuff has to stay in the ring.

‘I’m surprised ITV didn’t do further checks, I saw the row between him and Shaq and wasn’t surprised in the slightest. That’s the type of guy he is. What you see is what you get.’

On Instagram, Haris often shares snaps and videos of himself training in the boxing ring, as well as showing off his talents in his fights at Steel City Gym.

After the video emerged, bosses initially issued a statement following reports Haris’s future involvement in the show hangs by ‘the thinnest of threads’.

A representative for Love Island said: ‘Language and behaviour in the villa is always closely monitored, and Islanders are reminded of what we consider acceptable during their time on the show.

‘Extensive duty of care protocols for all Islanders includes video training and guidance covering language and behaviour.’

An ITV source added to MailOnline that background checks are carried out before Islanders enter the show and that the video training tells them how they should conduct themselves in the villa and what is considered unacceptable behaviour.

Exit: Insiders have since told MailOnline that Haris left the villa as part of a planned eviction after a public vote

The insider told us: ‘This training is their opportunity to learn and gain perspective from any mistakes or errors of judgement that have been made prior to going on the show.’ 

The footage comes days after a fight erupted between Haris and Shaq Muhammad after a beer pong game – with the men having to be forced apart by shocked Islanders.

The drama kicked off as Haris commented on bombshell newcomer David’s steamy kiss with Shaq’s partner Tanya, causing Shaq to brand the TV salesman a ‘s**t stirrer’.

LOVE ISLAND 2023: MEET THE CONTESTANTS

Tanya Manhenga 

Name: Tanya Manhenga

Age: 22

Location: Liverpool

Occupation: Student and model

Something not many people know about her: ‘I have Vitiligo, which is a skin pigmentation, you may not even notice it.’

‘It’s on my lip and I have a stripe on my hair. Not many people know that but I think it’s quite cute.’

‘I don’t care about covering it up all the time, I think it’s a vibe.’

Lana Jenkins 

Name: Lana Jenkins

Age: 25

Location: Luton

Occupation: Makeup artist

Something not many people know about her: ‘In my work as a makeup artist I’ve worked with lots of celebrities.

‘Also, when I was 6-years-old I used to live in Spain and I was in an episode of Benidorm as an extra.’

Anna-May Robey 

Name: Anna-May Robey

Age: 20

Location: Swansea

Occupation: Payroll assistant

Something not many people know about her: ‘I went on a date once and I never saw him again.’

‘We went for food and shared a bottle of wine. As I was speaking to him he fell asleep!’

‘I had to clink his wine glass to wake him up.’

Tanyel Revan

Name: Tanyel Revan

Age: 26

Location: North London

Occupation: Hair stylist

Something not many people know about her: ‘My celebrity crush is Channing Tatum – I don’t like pretty boys, they give me the ‘ick’ because they always have a crap personality.’

‘Channing Tatum is handsome but not too pretty. He’s manly and he can dance.’

‘If a man can dance I’m in love with him straight away.’

Olivia Hawkins

Name: Olivia Hawkins

Age: 27

 Location: Brighton

Occupation: Ring girl and actress

Something not many people know about her: ‘I did a film with Jason Statham and had a nice 10-minute convo about life.’

‘I’ve been a ring girl for KSI, I played a waitress in James Bond with Daniel Craig and I’ve also been a body double for Michelle Keegan and Emma Watson.’

Tom Clare

Name: Tom Clare

 Age: 23

Location: Barnsley

Occupation: Semi-Pro Footballer

Something not many people know about him: I’m a High School Musical fan

Aaron Waters

Name: Aaron Waters

Age: 25

Location: Melbourne

Occupation: Model

Someting not many people know about him: He thinks his appearance on Love Island UK was ‘diving timing’ 

Kai Fagan 

 Name: Kai Fagan

Age: 24

Location: Manchester

Occupation: Science and PE teacher

Something not many people know about him: ‘I’m a Jamaican citizen. Because of that I played rugby 7s for Jamaica.’

‘I play semi-professional rugby now for Burnage RFC.’

‘I’ve technically got three different degrees and went to three different unis.’

Ron Hall

 Name: Ron Hall

Age: 25

Location: Essex

Occupation: Financial advisor 

Something not many people know about him: ‘On meeting me, you’d never know I am blind in one eye.’

‘It was the result of a football injury when I was 8. I’ve got two different coloured eyes, one blue and one green.’

Will Young

 Name: Will Young

Age: 23

Location: Buckinghamshire

Occupation: Farmer

Something not many people know about him: ‘Every night I light a candle and meditate for 20-25 minutes.’

‘A girl I was seeing told me to meditate, I tried it and loved it. I stopped seeing her and carried on meditating!

‘It’s a nice way to self reflect.’ 

Shaq Muhammad

Name: Shaq Muhammad

Age: 24

 Location: London

Occupation: Airport security officer

Something not many people know about him: ‘I’m a very emotional person. It can be a blessing and a curse.’  

‘Every time I watch Dear John I cry. 

That’s my favourite film. Any time I’m with someone and they say, ‘Let’s watch a romantic film’, I’m like, ‘How about Dear John, how does that sound?’

Haris Namani

Name: Haris Namani

Age: 21

 Location: Doncaster

Occupation: TV salesman

Something not many people know about him: ‘I’ve never found love. I think this is the show that can help me.’

‘It’s the best opportunity for me to find the girl and find the right one. I’ve obviously not found the right one myself.’

Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown

Name: Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown

Age: 25

Location: London

Occupation: Model and property developer

Something not many people know about her: ‘I’ve gone onto do lots of modelling and dancing for music videos for UK and global artists, I’ve worked with people like Hardy Caprio, Headie One, Aitch, Tione Wayne and more.’

Jessie Wynter

Name: Jessie Wynter

Age: 26

Location: Sydney

Occupation: Personal Trainer

Something you may not know about her: She was on series two of Love Island Australia