Love Island USA executive producer James Barker has died during production of the reality dating show's eighth season in Fiji.

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Love Island USA's production company ITV America and streaming service Peacock confirmed James' death in a statement to TMZ on Monday, June 15.

"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 statement said.

Additional details about James' death have yet to be released or reported.

James' passing comes as Love Island USA's eighth season continues to film in Fiji.

"James' unimaginable loss has been deeply felt across not just the entire Love Island USA production, but throughout all of ITV and Peacock," the statement continued.

"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."

Peacock concluded: "We extend our heartfelt condolences to James' partner, family, friends and colleagues."

According to James' LinkedIn profile, he started working at ITV America in Summer 2020. After years of working on the Love Island franchise, he was just promoted to be a full-time executive producer earlier this year.

Peacock premiered Love Island USA's eighth season on June 2.

Love Island USA features a group of sexy singles looking for love.

As the cast members mix and mingle, Islanders couple up and face challenges together.

However, new "bombshells" continue to arrive, raising temptation and forcing Islanders to decide if they want to remain with their current partners or recouple with someone new.

Viewers are able to vote for their favorite couples via the Love Island USA app to determine which Islanders will recouple, who will remain in the villa, and who will go home heartbroken.

As the Islanders film nonstop for weeks, viewers can watch watching daily episodes, except for on Wednesdays, and help to determine the fate of the cast members.

Love Island USA released a statement condemning "negativity" prior to the unveiling of its Season 8 cast in late May.

"The Villa runs on good vibes, and so does this community," read the post.

"We love seeing your reactions, opinions, and debates, but everyone deserves to feel safe and respected."

The show continued, "This is a space for fun, not negativity -- so keep it kind, keep it positive, and remember: this is LOVE Island!"

But two cast members were not giving "good vibes" and so Peacock removed them from the Season 8 cast.

Season 7 of Love Island USA, which was hosted by Vanderpump Rules alum Ariana Madix, made headlines in Summer 2025 because fans got a little too invested in the drama.

Some fans actually tried to contact the Islanders off screen, resulting in invasive behavior.

Love Island USA host and former Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix issued a statement at the time, telling some Love Island USA viewers that they took things too far, according to Us Weekly.

"I do want to say something to some of those people who are online," she said during a June 2025 episode of Aftersun. "Don't be contacting people's families. Don't be doxxing people."

Ariana also asked people to stop going on the Islanders' social media pages and "saying rude things."

The show's host continued, "You still have time to delete all of that because the Islanders don't have their phones. So we are giving you a chance because this is a fun, amazing and beautiful show."

Ariana told viewers they "should be thanking" each member of the cast for "every single day" they commit their time to filming.

Peacock also had to reprimand "cyberbullying, harassment or hate" online.

"We don't love [that]," the streaming service reportedly said in a statement that aired in a June 2025 episode.

"The keyword in Love Island is... love. We love our fans. We love our islanders."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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