A key executive producer of reality television hit Love Island USA has died after suffering a medical emergency in Fiji, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
James Baker had worked with the show’s production company since 2020 and had just been named an executive producer in January.
In a statement, Peacock announced that Baker died in Fiji, where season eight is currently in production.
“ITV America and Peacock will honor in Tuesday’s episode of Love Island USA series Executive Producer James Barker, who passed away last week in Fiji after suffering an unexpected medical emergency,” the release stated.
“James’ unimaginable loss has been deeply felt across not just the entire Love Island USA production, but throughout all of ITV and Peacock. He was a beloved and greatly valued member of our collective family whose kindness, talent, and dedication left an indelible mark on all of us and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him,” the statement continued. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to James’ partner, family, friends, and colleagues.”
Exact details surrounding the death, including the cause, have not been released.
In addition to Love Island USA, Baker also worked on the Hulu dating series Are You My First, the HGTV competition series Table Wars with Tamera Mowry and Martha Stewart, and was co-executive producer on Cosmic Love, an Amazon Prime dating show that matched singles based on their astrological signs, and the second season of Claim to Fame on ABC.
But Love Island USA seemed to hold a special place in his heart. In a pinned post on Instagram, he celebrated record ratings for the show’s seventh season, gushing, “The minute I heard #loveisland was coming to the US, I knew I had to be apart of it. Now, 6 years later, we’re doing absurd numbers on @loveislandusa, and I love my job more than I ever have. Congrats to the team, past and current. We did it.”
It’s not clear if production on the show will be stopped or temporarily suspended, but this is not the first time producers on the show have made news in front of the camera.
Three years ago, two producers filed a bombshell lawsuit claiming some of their colleagues prevented a black contestant from succeeding on the show, and that they witnessed certain crew members watch the cast shower despite being instructed not to do so.
The suit accused the defendants of race and gender discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination.
During their employment, while on location, Jasmine Crestwell and Alex Rinks said they “immediately grew concerned by the show’s labor practices.”
Rinks said she complained about alleged unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the show’s supposedly luxe “villa,” which was “in reality, a ramshackle, dilapidated ranch with inadequate plumbing and inoperable bathrooms.”
“The villa was also unsanitary. Islanders generally were restricted to specific portable toilets connected to their rooms. These toilets were rarely cleaned and often broken and unusable. Showers in the villa’s bathrooms were clogged and overflowing,” the suit read.
Crestwell said she complained about the alleged mistreatment of islanders, particularly a black female contestant named Serenti Springs, one of the “few women of color on the show.”
ITV publicly denied the claims, categorizing the lawsuit as a “frivolous attack” and stating that the producers were rightfully terminated for job performance issues. The lawsuit is still ongoing.