'Love Island' Star Olandria's Sunglasses Challenge Sparks Debate — "It’s Giving Body Checking"

Love Island USA star Olandria Carthen has sparked a TikTok firestorm — and not for the reasons she might have hoped.

A recent video of her dancing in a crop top and looping sunglasses around her waist has ignited a viral trend. This trend was named after the Love Island personality, as Olandria’s sunglasses waist challenge.

While most TikTok challenges and trends are just silly and harmless fun, the internet seems to think otherwise about this one.

At first glance, it’s just another TikTok challenge: a playful moment set to music, racking up millions of views. Love Island fans, social media influencers, and wellness experts, however, are pushing back on this one — arguing that the challenge veers dangerously into body checking territory.

According to The Mirror, this all started with a simple TikTok clip posted by Olandria that later exploded with over 14.4 million views. In the video, Olandria walks toward the camera in a gray crop top and pink pants, then steps back, places two pairs of sunglasses around her waist, and dances.

The caption reads: “I’ve been summoned.” To some, this felt like a flex about how tiny her waist was. Others, however, saw it as a massive red flag.

Comment sections on TikTok and Reddit quickly filled with concern.

One user posted, “You’d have to be bone stupid to not understand how a challenge to put sunglasses around your waist is problematic, especially in the current climate.”

Another simply said, “It’s giving body checking.”

If that phrase sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been used across multiple platforms to describe the underlying issue: not celebration, but comparison.

One thoughtful Reddit comment captured the dilemma perfectly: “Love Olandria, can't say I like this trend at all … Body positivity (I love my waist) is different than body checking (I can fit sunglasses around my waist) because checking invites comparison or creates a standard that doesn't exist.”

This comment came from a Redditor in a SubReddit called Good Vibes. Ironically, even in that space, many users admitted the challenge just didn’t feel right.

One even apologized mid-comment for disrupting the good vibes, but felt the conversation was necessary.

When criticism intensified, Olandria addressed the controversy via TikTok. According to The Tab, the Love Island star had this to say in response to the backlash: “I love all body types. I’m not encouraging nobody to look a certain way. I always encourage people to be the best version of themselves.”

Despite defending herself and claiming she loved all body types, she later deleted the video from her TikTok profile. That, however, wasn’t before it went viral getting reposted and shared all over multiple social media platforms. Unfortunately for Olandria, deleting it from her profile didn't really delete it from the internet.

Whether this TikTok trend fades or continues to circulate, the conversation it sparked is worth exploring. After all, as more users have pointed out: body positivity shouldn’t feel like a test.