Cierra Ortega removed from Love Island USA after racist posts spark outrage: This is what she said
Season 7 has been rocked by controversy after contestant
Cierra Ortega
was abruptly removed from the villa following the resurfacing of racist
social media
posts. The 25-year-old content creator from Phoenix, Arizona, became the center of a firestorm after fans uncovered posts in which she used a derogatory
anti-Asian slur
, triggering widespread backlash and a swift response from the show's producers.
The controversy began when fans circulated a 2015
story in which Ortega wrote 'Still chkin' at the top,' referencing her smile with a slur widely recognized as anti-Asian. The situation escalated when a 2020 TikTok video surfaced, showing Ortega saying, 'I can also be a little chky when I laugh/smile so I love getting a mini brow lift,' again using the same offensive term to describe her facial features in the context of cosmetic treatments.
Fan backlash and social media fallout
The reaction was immediate and intense. Ortega lost nearly 200,000 Instagram followers in just 48 hours, dropping from nearly one million to about 726,000 as of this week. Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok were flooded with calls for her removal, with many users highlighting that she had used the slur on multiple occasions over several years. Some fans drew comparisons to the earlier exit of contestant Yulissa Escobar, who was removed for using the N-word in a podcast.
Show's response and official exit
Producers acted quickly after crisis meetings, removing Ortega from the show. A production insider stated, 'This kind of language is unacceptable… We had no choice but to act'. During Sunday's episode, host Iain Stirling told viewers that Cierra had 'left the villa due to a personal reason,' while her partner
Nic Vansteenberghe
was left single and considering his next move.
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Host Ariana Madix also addressed criticism that she and the show had been silent, responding on Instagram, 'Not silent. You don't know what you're talking about'.
Ortega's exit leaves Nic Vansteenberghe in a precarious position ahead of the show's Casa Amor twist, where he must recouple or risk elimination. The scandal has also reignited debate about how reality TV shows vet contestants' social media histories and respond to racism.
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Cierra Ortega is the second contestant this season to be removed for past racist behavior, highlighting ongoing challenges for reality TV in addressing and preventing discrimination.The incident has sparked renewed calls for accountability and more thorough background checks on reality show participants.
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