Love Island’s Ovie Soko has told MailOnline exclusively that he believes reality shows should have age restrictions in bid to protect the welfare of younger participants, following the tragic death of Liam Payne aged 31.
The basketball star, 33, who appeared on the ITV2 show in 2019, said that it was unfair for those in their teens and early twenties to be ‘judged for their silly mistakes’ in front of an audience of millions.
His comments come after music mogul Simon Cowell faced pressure over the aftercare provided for young performers suddenly rocketed to fame, after the X Factor boss helped handpick One Direction and went on to manage them.
Speaking at Captain Morgan and Pepsi MAX’s immersive pop-up, The Mixer, Ovie said: ‘There should maybe be an age restriction, because someone that’s a young adult is still a young adult’.
‘They are going to make young mistakes and I don’t think that’s always fair for someone that age to be held to something that their doing when they are young and silly’.
Love Island’s Ovie Soko, 33, has told MailOnline exclusively that he believes reality shows should have age restrictions in bid to protect the welfare of younger participants, following the tragic death of Liam Payne aged 31
The One Direction singer fell 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires last week (pictured 2020)
His comments come after music mogul Simon Cowell faced pressure over the aftercare provided for young performers suddenly rocketed to fame (Liam and Simon pictured 2017)
Asked if there was anything he’d have done differently on Love Island, Ovie said: ‘I don’t think so, I think it was a good experience for me’.
‘I really can’t complain, I was pretty privileged when some people get a bad wrap and get a bad experience when I had a pretty easy going’.
Ovie hosted the bash alongside Amber Gill with guests entering through one of the secret fridge doors located in the convenience store to access the exclusive house party where they sipped on the new Captain Morgan X Pepsi MAX pre-mix can.
He joined fellow celebs in calls for better care for younger stars with Katie Waissel called for a negligence and duty of care investigation into Simon’s record company after Liam’s death.
The singer, 38, who auditioned alongside Liam on the 2010 series of X Factor, name-checked the music mogul in two statements in which she accused music bosses of focusing on ‘profits rather than people’.
Before going further still and citing an ‘urgent need for change in the music industry’ as she called for an ‘immediate investigation’ and ‘new laws’ to protect stars
Katie’s comments come after fellow contestant Rebecca Ferguson also said the PTSD caused by ‘profiteering off young stars’ had ‘finally taken its first victim’.
Liam first auditioned for the X Factor aged just 14 in 2008, before returning two years later where he became a member of One Direction.
The basketball star, 33, who appeared on the ITV2 show in 2019, said that it was unfair for those in their teens and early twenties to be ‘judged for their silly mistakes’ in front of an audience of millions
Ovie said: ‘There should maybe be an age restriction, because someone that’s a young adult is still a young adult’ (pictured on Love Island in 2019
Ovie finished in third place alongside India Reynolds
Liam first auditioned for the X Factor aged just 14 in 2008, before returning two years later where he became a member of One Direction (pictured at 16 in 2009)
Meanwhile speaking at Pride of Britain Awards Beverley Knight said: ‘We need more care for young people in the music industry. He was initially 14, 15 when he started, the 1D lads were babies! And as minors there should be so much more care, so much more attention.
‘In theatre there are chaperones for kids until they reach the age of 18, we should have the same in music.
‘Kids need to be protected, they cannot just be a means of making money or generating money. They cannot, they have to be protected, their mental health has to be looked after first and foremost.’
While fellow singer Chesney Hawkes said he hoped Liam’s death triggered a positive change in the industry and commented on how reality shows have caused ‘casualties’.
Saying: ‘Going through this business is not an easy thing. I feel for Liam and his family. It does spit you out, this business, and I feel there needs to be more support for artists. Especially artists that go through these reality shows where they are very famous for one minute and then spat out.
He joined fellow celebs in calls for better care for younger stars with Katie Waissel (pictured) called for a negligence and duty of care investigation into Simon’s record company
Katie’s comments come after fellow contestant Rebecca Ferguson also said the PTSD caused by ‘profiteering off young stars’ had ‘finally taken its first victim’
Simon was a judge on X Factor and signed One Direction to his music label, Syco after their stint on the show in 2010 (Pictured left to right: Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan)
‘We all know there have been casualties of that machine. And I’m hoping that with tragedy like this comes some kind of hope that the business is going to look after these people.’
Liam fell 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires last week.
He was outspoken about how the global fame of One Direction changed his life and affected his relationship with drugs and alcohol , once admitting: ‘I don’t know if I’ve hit rock bottom yet.’
Speaking to Stephen Bartlett on the Diary Of The CEO Podcast in 2021, Liam, admitted: ‘I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it’.
‘I don’t even know if I have hit it yet. I can either make that choice now and pick my last moment as my rock bottom or I can make a whole new low.’
He admitted he had suffered for years with ‘social anxiety’ and ‘stress’ from being famous, and discussed the pressure his mental health was under while not having the freedom to go anywhere as a boyband member.
They became one of the biggest pop groups in the world but six years after they were formed, with more than 20 million albums sold, the band were placed on indefinite hiatus.
While Liam was outspoken about how the global fame of One Direction changed his life and affected his relationship with drugs and alcohol (pictured 2011)
He admitted he had suffered for years with ‘social anxiety’ and ‘stress’ from being famous, and discussed the pressure his mental health was under (pictured in 2023)
The band have revealed how they went straight from The X Factor to stardom, with Liam recalling how his dad told him during the build up to the December X Factor final ‘don’t come home until Christmas the day that I left for the show and I never came home.’
Marking One Direction’s 10th anniversary in 2020, Payne shared a screenshot of a text message he sent to his father on the day he joined the group, reading: ‘I’m in a boyband.’
‘What a journey… I had no idea what we were in for when I sent this text to my dad years ago at this exact time the band was formed,’ he said.
Liam had in recent years talked about his journey to sobriety, and how his drinking began when the global mania for the boyband meant they were often stuck in hotel rooms, where alcohol was readily available.
Sign up for the house party events tonight (23rd) and tomorrow night (24th) at ‘The Mixer’ this week at www.captainmorgan.com, or visit the convenience store in the daytime and use the ‘ATM’.
