USAstar’s Love IslandFollowing the resurgence of internet posts featuring Cierra Ortega using a racial slur directed at East Asians, she abruptly left the Peacock reality series.
Contestant Nic Vansteenberghesingle is left in the villa after the streamer announced a week prior to the season finale that the 25-year-old was leaving due to a personal circumstance.
Soon later, Ortega’s previously published posts reappeared on social media, in which she frequently refers to people as recent as 2023 by using the slur.
“I can also be a little chinky when I laugh or smile, so I love getting a mini brow lift to open up my eyes and get that snatched look,” Ortega says in a post detailing her usage of Botox.
During the show’s taping, Ortega was unable to use social media, but her parents shared a statement on her Instagram page detailing one of the most agonizing weeks of our lives.
They posted on their daughter’s Instagram profile, saying, “We’re not here to ignore or justify what’s surfaced.” We recognize accountability is important, and we know why people are upset. However, current internet events have expanded well beyond that.
The dangers. The nasty messages. The message went on to say, “It’s heartbreaking that her family, friends, and even supporters have been attacked.” It’s not appropriate. And regardless of their mistakes, nobody deserves that kind of vitriol.
Regarding when Ortega will speak in public, her family believes she will accept responsibility in her own time and voice and appeals to her followers to have empathy and human decency.
According to reports, Ortega lost 200,000 social media followers as a result of the controversy, and 17,000 people signed a petition calling for her to be kicked off the show.
Furthermore, this is not the first competitor to be kicked from the program this season for using racial epithets. Following two podcast appearances in which she used the N word, Yulissa Escobar left the show during episode 2.
Escobar apologized on Instagram, claiming that she used the phrase carelessly.
I used a racist slur in those clips, which is a word I should never have uttered. She added in the Instagram caption, “I used it ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history, or pain behind it.”
Although I didn’t mean to offend or hurt anyone, I now understand that impact cannot be justified by intention. And that word has actual impact. It is not mine to use, yet it is linked to generations of trauma.
Except on Wednesdays, Love Island USA season 7 airs every day on Peacock.
