We all know that games can bring out the worst in people. Whether it’s friendship drama stirred over a few pints with your mates or Christmastime when one rowdy family member gets a bit too tippled: we’ve all been there. And Love Island is no exception.

Each time a game or a challenge rolls around, the Love Island villa plummets from its status as a loved-up paradise in the blink of an eye. That’s exactly what happened in last night’s episode (Monday, February 17th), where for Mike Boateng, one simple ‘joke’ quickly lost him a lot of fans in and outside the villa.

With a swift pat on the head and a sarky reference to Shrek, Mike lost a lot of respect, mainly as viewers and his fellow Islanders deemed the action incredibly rude. Here’s what went down.

“That’ll do donkey”

Less than a week away from the Love Island grand finale, Mike threw a spanner in the works with Priscilla and potentially damaged their strength as a couple.

From the way Mike and Priscilla were interacting last night, they definitely have proven themselves to be one of the weaker couples. Especially compared to the likes of Finley Tapp and Paige Turley, and Luke Trotman and Siannise Fudge.

During the ‘Couple Goals’ challenge, Mike made said “that’ll do Donkey” (a line from Shrek) while patting Priscilla on the head. And it didn’t come across in a particularly funny way.

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The Islanders react

It’s never a nice feeling when a joke goes down like a lead balloon; when you are then called out by your friends for the joke not being funny, it’s a double whammy of shame.

Immediately after Mike patted Priscilla on the head, his fellow Islanders reacted in a far from positive manner. Jess instantly shook her head and said “no.” Finn added “heavy that.” Luke Trotman questioned the use of the word donkey before Ched admitted: “Personally I wouldn’t have that.”

It was as if the viewers’ thoughts were being vocalised on screen and Mike could sense that he had effed up big time. All Mike could say in response to the rest of the couples was “oh shut up.” So… he didn’t handle the situation all too well.

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What did Priscilla have to say?

Although it’s important to consider what others think of your actions, the only person who truly mattered in this situation was Priscilla Anyabu.

Priscilla said of Mike’s pat on the head:

I don’t mind banter, me and Mike have banter which is not the issue. Even with the ‘there there donkey’… It’s the fact that we were in the challenge and he patted me on my head like I was beneath him… it was just very condescending.

After the challenge, Priscilla confronted Mike about his action and said: “The thing I hate in the whole world is to feel embarrassed and in this case you one million per cent embarrassed me.”

Opinion: Was it rude to pat Priscilla on the head?

Of course there are some viewers out there who thought Priscilla majorly overreacted in the episode, but this isn’t just some effect of the Snowflake Generation.

In this day and age, where women still struggle to feel heard, respected and equal to their male counterparts, belittling actions such as the one Mike made have a big impact. It matters because there are some who aren’t as confident in standing up for themselves as Priscilla. For those women – and even men who are belittled by others – this ‘joke’ is far from funny.

Sure, Mike was explicitly referencing Shrek, pat and all – in the film, Shrek pats Donkey’s cheek which we think would have come across in an even more patronising manner – yet the delivery was all off.

If Priscilla felt it was rude and condescending, then it was rude and condescending. End of.

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