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'Love Island USA's Belle-A Reacts to Cierra's Removal From Villa

Belle-A Walker might not be in the Love Island USA Villa anymore, but that's not stopping her from dumping a fellow Islander. Following the controversy surrounding Cierra Ortega's alleged past use of a racist slur on Instagram and her subsequent elimination from the reality show, Belle-A reacted to Cierra's Love Island USA exit by declaring their friendship to be over. 'As a proud Asian American woman, I'm deeply appreciative of the Love Island USA producers for taking a stand and making it clear that racism of any kind is not tolerated,' Belle-A wrote in a statement posted to her Instagram Story after Cierra left the Villa. 'When I first saw what my fellow Islander said on their social media pages, I was incredibly heartbroken.' Cierra left the show on July 6 after old social media posts surfaced of her seemingly using an Asian slur. (She has yet to confirm the authenticity of the Instagram Story screenshots in question.) She appears to have used the slur multiple times, most recently in January of 2024, prompting fans to call for her to be removed from the Villa. Belle-A added that she initially wanted to wait until Cierra had left the Villa and was given a chance 'to address the situation, genuinely apologize, and commit to learning from the experience' before commenting publicly or making any decisions about the future of their friendship. However, additional screenshots that seemingly showed Cierra using the same slur multiple times made that impossible. 'As screenshots continued to surface, it became clear that I could no longer support this person, and made the decision to unfollow them a couple of days ago,' Belle-A wrote. She continued, noting that she felt compelled to speak out in part because 'Asian hate is oftentimes overlooked and dismissed,' and she's witnessed firsthand how it can affect people. She specifically credited her mother, who immigrated to the US. 'Knowing the hardships she and so many others have faced, I could not be silent any longer,' she wrote. Belle-A is the only contestant to release such a strong statement condemning Cierra's actions, but she isn't the only one who has spoken out. When asked about Cierra's exit during a TikTok live, Jeremiah Brown said he didn't 'condone no type of racial slurs.' Cierra has yet to address the situation publicly.