Love Island USA Ousts Cierra Ortega After Anti-Asian Slur Resurfaces

12 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Updated Jul 7, 2025, 03:03 AM

Love Island USA removed a second contestant over racist content, announcing during Episode 30 on July 6 that Cierra Ortega "left the villa due to a personal situation," leaving her on-screen partner Nic Vansteenberghe single. The 25-year-old content creator’s departure followed a surge of online criticism after fans resurfaced a 2015 Instagram caption and a 2023 story in which she used an anti-Asian slur.

Although the programme and its U.S. broadcaster Peacock cited only a “personal situation,” trade publications Variety and Deadline reported Ortega was taken off the reality dating series as producers scrambled to contain the backlash with just one week remaining before the season finale. Ortega has not issued a statement; friends managing her accounts said they were stepping back and condemned racism.

Ortega’s exit mirrors that of fellow original Islander Yulissa Escobar, who was told to leave during Episode 2 earlier in the season after video clips showed her using the N-word in a podcast. Escobar later apologised on TikTok and Instagram. The twin incidents have intensified scrutiny of Love Island USA’s vetting procedures as the Fiji-filmed show streams six nights a week on Peacock.

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