Love Island USA's Cierra Ortega Loses Nearly 200K Instagram Followers For Using Anti-Asian Slur

Yahoo

07-07-2025

The glittering rise of Love Island USA contestant Cierra Ortega has come crashing down as fans abandon her en masse amid a growing racism scandal. In less than 48 hours, the 25-year-old influencer has hemorrhaged over 200,000 Instagram followers after a TikTok video and an old Instagram post resurfaced, both showing her casually using a racial slur against Asians.
At the peak of her reality TV stardom, Ortega seemed poised to cross the million-follower mark on Instagram. Now, she's teetering at 726,000 and plummeting fast.
But what exactly happened, and why is social media calling for her immediate removal from the villa?
The social media eruption began when a TikTok clip originally posted in June 2020 was dredged up by users who noticed its disturbing language. In the video, Cierra, then 20, is seen in a doctor's office undergoing cosmetic procedures. The initial caption appears harmless enough, standard influencer fare about Botox and facial expressiveness.
But buried in the middle of her caption, Cierra wrote:
'I can also be a little chubby when I laugh or 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.'Then she added:'My smile's a little ch*nky.'
If that weren't damning enough, internet sleuths uncovered a 2015 Instagram post in which Ortega once again used the same slur, captioning a selfie:
'Still ch*nkin' at the top.'
The screenshots from both posts have gone viral, fueling fury across Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit. While some have attempted to excuse her words as 'self-deprecating,' others argue that the use of a known racial slur twice over multiple years reveals more than just poor judgment.
The backlash was immediate and merciless.
'Cierra racist, saying slurs, and overall a fake person. Please get her out of the villa immediately along with Austin, Ace and Zak,' tweeted one angry viewer.
'Cierra literally said a racial slur but no one gives a f**k and everyone is saying it's not offensive. Racism towards Asians will never be taken seriously,' wrote another.
A growing contingent of Love Island USA fans are now calling for Ortega to receive the 'Yulissa treatment', a reference to fellow Season 7 contestant Yulissa Escobar, who was abruptly removed from the show after old podcast clips surfaced of her using a racial slur.
Escobar's exit was swift and unceremonious. Narrator Iain Stirling briefly addressed her disappearance during Episode 2, saying only that she was 'no longer in the villa.' No explanation. No segment. Just gone.
Now fans want the same for Cierra.
'If we kicked someone else out for using racial slurs, why should she be treated any different?' one user posted. 'Her ass needs to get gone, I'm so serious.'
The scandal is also reigniting criticism of the show's producers, who have been accused of showing favoritism toward Ortega throughout the season. Viewers have pointed to edited footage, unbalanced screen time, and favorable pairings that suggest a narrative bias in her favor.
'Last thing… Cierra posted this TikTok ON HER OWN FREE WILL on 6.14.20 using the same slur she did in the IG story,' said one user. 'If the producers choose to ignore this, they're rigging and for what? To defend a racist?'
The backlash has now spilled beyond Love Island USA fandom and into broader conversations about anti-Asian racism in media and the selective enforcement of consequences.
Before the controversy erupted, Ortega was rapidly gaining followers thanks to her steamy villa flirtations and Instagram-perfect looks. At her peak, she boasted 921,000 followers. Now, she's lost nearly a quarter of her fanbase and counting.
Tracking tools show her losing thousands per hour as #CierraOut and #DumpCierra trend across social platforms.
Despite mounting calls for Ortega's removal, Love Island USA producers have yet to issue a statement or take visible action. As of July 3, Cierra remains in the villa, smiling in slow-motion montages and enjoying curated dates while the internet burns.
If producers thought the storm would pass, they may have miscalculated. Because if the show can eject Yulissa Escobar for one slur, what happens now that Cierra has been exposed using the same one twice?
In a post-#MeToo, post-#StopAsianHate reality TV landscape, audiences are less forgiving than ever. The demand is clear: equality in accountability.
Fans aren't just asking for justice, they're demanding it. And unless Love Island USA takes action, the show itself might suffer a loyalty loss of its own.
As one user put it best:
'I am so disgusted by the amount of people dismissing Cierra saying a literal slur against Asian people TWICE. Give her the Yulissa treatment immediately.'
The villa may be in paradise, but this scandal is anything but.
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