Love Island USA's Cierra Ortega leaves the villa after racism scandal
Cierra Ortega has made her exit from the Love Island USA villa amidst a racism row. It emerged that producers were locked in emergency discussions after an old social media post by Cierra came to light, and during the July 6 episode, narrator Iain Stirling announced that "Cierra had left due to a personal reason".
The exact date of Cierra's departure remains unclear, but her removal was demanded by viewers once the contentious social media post was spotted. The Instagram Story that sparked the controversy featured Cierra talking about her use of Botox.
She shared that Botox prevents her from frowning when she's deep in thought or concentration, saying: "Botox isn't for everyone but I love it for me!!! I am incredibly expressive with my face and I catch myself frowning for no reason throughout the day when I'm focusing on something or thinking too hard lol."
However, the situation escalated when she used a racial slur while referring to her smile, which is derogatory towards people of East Asian descent, reports the Mirror US.
Her post read: "I can also be a little ch**ky when I laugh/smile so I love getting a mini brow lift to open up my eyes and get that snatched look. This is not me encouraging but more so sharing."
After the revelation of the "crisis meeting," there was a strong public outcry for Cierra's ousting. As the July 6 episode aired, audiences immediately took to social media to express their reactions as they witnessed Cierra's actual departure from the show.
One viewer exclaimed: "oh wow they actually booted cierra." While another commented: "Cierra's a** finally out the villa." A third fan shared their shock: "CIERRA HAS LEFT THE VILLA OH MY JAW DROPPED AND I HOWLEDDDDD YESSSSSSSS," and a fourth simply stated, "Omg Cierra is gone."
Another individual couldn't hide their surprise, saying, "I can't freaking believe it. Cierra is out of the villa ! ! ! ! !" Meanwhile, someone else found humour in the situation: "Cierra getting kicked out immediately before a recoupling is hilarious as f--k, I'm sorry #LoveIslandUSA."
Following Cierra's unexpected exit, her partner Nic was left feeling adrift, confessing he felt "lost" without her. Reflecting on the turn of events, Nic said, "Well, I think now that my strongest connection is gone, I'll just figure it out from here. I was not expecting this".
Cierra's parents have also released a statement, asking viewers for "compassion". The lengthy post shared began, "As Cierra's parents, this has been one of the most painful weeks of our lives. We've seen the posts, the headlines, the hurt and the hate. And while Cierra hasn't seen any of it yet, we have. And so have the people who love her."
They continued: "We're not here to justify or ignore what's surfaced. We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what's happening online right now has gone far beyond that.
"The threats. The cruel messages. The attacks on her family, her friends, even her supporters, it's heartbreaking. It's uncalled for. And no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they've made.
"While Cierra is not in the villa anymore, she is still away. She hasn't had the chance to process any of this or speak for herself. But we know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she'll face this with honesty, growth, and grace."
Her parents then added: "While she'll always be our little girl, she's also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice. Until then, we're simply asking for compassion. For patience. For basic human decency. Not just for her, but for everyone caught in the middle of this."
They ended the statement by saying: "Thank you to those who've continued to show love, even when it's not easy. With love, Her family."
Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
20 minutes ago
- NBC News
'Love Island USA' star Yulissa Escobar reacts to Cierra Ortega's sudden departure
Former 'Love Island USA' contestant Yulissa Escobar is addressing Cierra Ortega's departure from the show, calling for compassion over cyberbullying . In a TikTok video posted July 7, Escobar, 27, drew parallels between her experience and Ortega's abrupt removal from the villa in Episode 30. Both left 'Love Island USA' after posts containing racial slurs resurfaced. A spokesperson for Peacock declined to comment to (Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, TODAY and NBC News' parent company.) 'I know what she did was wrong but we need to stop fighting hate with hate,' Escobar said in the video. 'The cyberbullying has gone to another level.' Following her removal from the show in June after Episode 2, Escobar issued an apology. In her recent video, the former Islander acknowledged that both she and Ortega made mistakes and didn't minimize the harm caused by their words. 'I'm not justifying what I did, I know what I did and what I said was wrong, and I know what Cierra said was wrong and I know it hurt communities,' she said. Escobar emphasized that while she doesn't condone the language used, the online harassment both women have faced crosses a line. 'When I was in that hotel room in Fiji and I was looking at those messages I was getting, I was honestly scared to come home,' Escobar said. 'I was like, is something going to happen to me? Is someone going to do something to me? Because it was just a lot to take in, and even my family was worried.' Now, she's worried about Ortega facing similar threats. 'Instead of sending such disgusting messages to her and her family ... try to educate us,' Escobar said. 'Her, me, I said something in the past that was wrong, she did too, like try to educate people so we can grow as a community.' Escobar expressed particular concern for Ortega's mental health, noting that she doesn't know if the former Islander is 'OK' and saying she wished she could check on her well-being. 'I'm speaking up for everybody in that island, I'm speaking up for Cierra, not because I don't know what she did was wrong … but I just feel for her mental health and I'm scared, I'm worried for her,' she said. Escobar concluded her video with a message of unity. 'We need to stick together, we can't continue this division we need to unite and teach people. That's how we're going to grow as a community, and we have younger generations that are watching this show and we're not teaching them to be better,' she said. The 'Love Island USA' finale is set to air on July 13, with the recent controversies casting a shadow on the season's conclusion. Ortega has not publicly addressed her departure. Her parents issued a statement posted to her Instagram story, both acknowledging Ortega's actions and asking for an end to 'threats' and 'cruel messages.' 'As Cierra's parents, this has been one of the most painful weeks of our lives,' the post began. 'We're not here to justify or ignore what's surfaced. We understand people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what's happening online right now has gone far beyond that.' The post said Ortega will 'face this with honesty, growth and grace' when she returns from Fiji, where the show is filmed. 'While she'll always be our little girl, she's also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice,' the post read.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island USA star breaks silence on Cierra Ortega's shock exit following racist slur scandal
A beloved Love Island USA castmember has broken their silence regarding Cierra Ortega's racist slur scandal which led to her removal from the show. Jeremiah Brown - who was one of the most loved stars of the reality show before he was voted off by his fellow castmembers - has addressed the offscreen racism controversy. On Sunday night's episode which streamed on Peacock, narrator Iain Stirling confirmed that Ortega 'left the villa due to a personal situation' and had left Nic Vansteenberghe 'officially single.' A following scene showed him talking to Ace Green and saying he wasn't sure what he would do next — which comes just one week before the season is set to conclude. While she was filming in Fiji, sequestered from social media, multiple racist posts from her Instagram was uncovered by Love Island fans, in which she used a slur offensive to Chinese people on two separate occasions. On Monday Jeremiah was asked about his thoughts on the scandal during a TikTok Live. He said: 'I don't condone no type of racial slurs. That racial stuff is weird to me. 'I have been dealing with that my whole life. Racial stuff is never cool.' This came after Ortega's parents broke their silence after their daughter was removed from season seven for past derogatory social media posts. On Sunday, the 25-year-old reality star's parents shared a statement via Instastory on her account about 'the most painful weeks of our lives.' Cierra's parents wrote: 'We've seen the posts, the headlines, the hurt and the hate. And while Cierra hasn't seen any of it, we have. And so have people who love her,' the statement began. 'We're not here to justify or ignore what's surfaced. We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what's happening online right now has gone far beyond that. The threats. The cruel messages. The attacks on her family, her friends, even her supporters, it's heartbreaking. It's uncalled for. And no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they've made.' They continued: 'While Cierra is not in the villa anymore, she is still away. She hasn't had the chance to process any of this or speak for herself. But we know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she'll face this with honesty, growth, and grace. While she'll always be our little girl, she's also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice. 'Until then, we're simply asking for compassion. For patience. For basic human decency. Not just for her, but for everyone caught in the middle of this. Thank you to those who've continued to show love, even when it's not easy. With love, her family.' This season of Love Island USA has been mired in controversy as another cast member sparked backlash for past racial slurs and was booted off of the show and was also fired when fans uncovered an offscreen racism scandal. Weeks ago, Yulissa Escobar departed from season seven after being introduced as an OG islander — and after the axed islander hit back at online trolls and cancel culture. By the beginning of the second episode, she was gone with Iain Stirling simply saying in the introduction that she had 'left the villa.' The 27-year-old real estate professional from Miami had been booted in just the third day after videos surfaced of her using the N-word in a podcast. After the swift removal of Escobar, many fans had been anticipating the same will happen with Ortega, a 25-year-old content creator from Phoenix, who arrived on Day 2. Past Instagram posts have surfaced of her using a racial slur towards Chinese people in two separate instances many years apart. One post from January 2015 showed a snap of her at the top of a mountain, using a version of the slur to describe how she smiles. There was also an Instagram story post from February 2023, showing her getting Botox treatments, again using the slur to describe her smile, and many fans are furious, calling for her immediate removal. One post from January 2015 showed a snap of her at the top of a mountain, using a version of the slur to describe how she smiles. While it remains to be seen if the show's producers will remove her like they removed Escobar, Ortega has already taken a bit hit in regards to her Instagram followers. She had lost over 200K followers since the posts had resurfaced Ortega was poised to potentially cross the 1 million follower mark at some point during Love Island Season 7, but her follower tally now stands at 695K. Many at the time had called for her to be kicked off the island. Cass Rabbit (@cassrabbit) tagged both @LoveIslandUSA and @Peacock in her tweet, which read, 'Get Cierra Ortega off your show. This is now the third time I'm seeing she used the slur for asians. Y'all rightfully kicked off Yulissa for saying the n word, what about Cierra? Or does racism against asians not matter to you guys?' Another X user - @h0td1lfj0hnny - asked, 'Why has cierra not been dropped from the villa,,,, she's f***ing racist using slurs. X user @SSTARZZNE added, 'cierra better be at the BOTTOM of that vote after her racist a** got exposed #LoveIslandUSA.' Mai (@mainpopvirgo) said, 'yulissa said a racial slur (the literal nword) and was kicked out of the show (as she should) bc of the rightful outrage how is this different to cierra saying another racial slur she cannot claim' One fan - @deannacortes - shared the petition link on X, adding, 'Send Cierra Ortega home,' with the hashtags #racist #LoveIslandUSA #stopasianhate. Another X user - @ShaneAnime1990 - insisted, 'Cierra Ortega used a racist word now we have to cancel her if she did it once she'll do it again.' Cass Rabbit (@cassrabbit) tagged both @LoveIslandUSA and @Peacock in her tweet, which read, 'Get Cierra Ortega off your show. This is now the third time I'm seeing she used the slur for asians. Y'all rightfully kicked off Yulissa for saying the n word, what about Cierra? Or does racism against asians not matter to you guys?' Another X user - @h0td1lfj0hnny - asked, 'Why has cierra not been dropped from the villa,,,, she's f***ing racist using slurs. The user added, 'Yall got yulissa up out of there quick but not cierra ??? @loveislandusa #loveislandusa Cierra not been dropped from the f---ing racist using slurs.' X user @SSTARZZNE added, 'cierra better be at the BOTTOM of that vote after her racist a** got exposed #LoveIslandUSA.' Mai (@mainpopvirgo) said, 'yulissa said a racial slur (the literal nword) and was kicked out of the show (as she should) bc of the rightful outrage how is this different to cierra saying another racial slur she cannot claim.'
Metro
17 hours ago
- Metro
Love Island star 'dumped from villa after posts with racial slur surface'
Love Island USA contestant Cierra Ortega was reportedly removed from the villa over a resurfaced racial remark. The 25-year-old influencer, who boasts 715k followers on Instagram, left the reality show on Sunday 'due to a personal situation' shortly after a historic video of her discussing Botox treatments went viral. During the February 2023 clip she uses a derogatory term for Chinese people which has been heavily criticised by those circulating the video and, per People, she used it once before in 2015. Ortega has not directly addressed the controversy but her parents, who are currently controlling her social media, released a statement on her Instagram story on Sunday confirming she was not yet back online. They called it 'one of the most painful weeks of our lives' and addressed 'the hurt and the hate' they had seen. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The message continued: 'We're not here to justify or ignore what's surfaced. 'We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what's happening online right now has gone far beyond that. The threats. The cruel messages. 'The attacks on her family, her friends, even her supporters, it's heartbreaking. It's uncalled for. And no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they've made.' They added that Ortega – who was paired with costar Nic Vansteenberghe during the Iain Stirling hosted show – had not yet 'processed' what had happened but believed she would face this with 'with honesty, growth, and grace.' 'While she'll always be our little girl, she's also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice. 'Until then, we're simply asking for compassion. For patience. For basic human decency. Not just for her, but for everyone caught in the middle of this,' they concluded. Ortega is not the first season seven contestant to be removed from the villa following the re-emergence of past racial remarks. Yulissa Escobar exited the show after just one episode although little explanation for her sudden departure was offered on the show. At the same time, TMZ had obtained clips of the reality star using the N-word on two separate occasions. More Trending Meanwhile, at the end of last month, it emerged that original Love Island USA star Cashel Barnett, 34, had been accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in front of the former couple's one-year-old child. He was arrested in Utah on charges relating to assault, aggravated assault, and domestic violence in the presence of a child. View More » Metro has reached out to Cierra Ortega and NBC for comment. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Surprise, Surprise: The Blind Date reboot already sounds awful MORE: Inside Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury's £4,000,000 sprawling 'dream' mansion MORE: People are amazed by 'best episode of TV show they've seen in years'
