Patti LuPone Apologizes for Interview Comments About Kecia Lewis, Audra McDonald: 'I Am Devastated'
Patti LuPone is apologizing for the recent comments she made in a New Yorker profile about Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis that's had the theater world buzzing.
'For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today. I am deeply sorry for the words I used during The New Yorker interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful,' she wrote on Instagram on Saturday. 'I regret my flippant and emotional responses during this interview, which were inappropriate, and I am devastated that my behavior has offended others and has run counter to what we hold dear in this community. I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies.'
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Audra McDonald Says She Didn't Know About "Rift" Between Her and Patti LuPone
'Gypsy' Theater Review: Audra McDonald Climbs the Mountain of One of the All-Time Greatest Musicals and Plants a Triumphant Flag
Kecia Lewis Says Patti LuPone Calling 'Hell's Kitchen' "Too Loud" Is "Racially Microaggresive," Requests Apology
'I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday. From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don't belong anywhere else,' LuPone continued. 'I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better.'
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Lewis and McDonald's reps for comment.
On Friday, Playbill reported that there was a letter that over 500 Broadway performers signed reprimanding LuPone's behavior. The letter, in part, read that her comments were a 'persistent failure to hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior — especially when they are powerful or well-known.' Tony winners Wendell Pierce, James Monroe Iglehart and Maleah Joi Moon signed it, as well as Courtney Love.
Last fall, while LuPone was starring in The Roommate, she complained about the musical next door, Hell's Kitchen, which Lewis was in, being 'too loud.' After that, Lewis took to Instagram to say that LuPone was 'bullying,' 'racially microaggressive' and 'rooted in privilege.'
In the New Yorker interview, LuPone responded by saying, 'Here's the problem. She calls herself a veteran? Let's find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn't know what the fuck she's talking about,' she said. 'Don't call yourself a vet, bitch.'
LuPone also said McDonald was 'not a friend' and that they had a rift years ago. However, on Thursday, McDonald appeared on CBS Mornings to promote Gypsy and her 11th Tony nomination and said she was surprised by LuPone's comments. 'If there's a rift between us, I don't know what it is. That's something you'd have to ask Patti about,' she said. 'I haven't seen her in about 11 years because I've been busy with life and stuff.'
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Forbes
8 minutes ago
- Forbes
Why Hollywood Stars Make Bank On Broadway—For Producers
George Clooney could not have asked for a much bigger or better Broadway debut. Good Night, and Good Luck—the show he cowrote, produced and stars in—is nominated for five Tony Awards at this Sunday's ceremony, including Clooney for Best Actor, and has broken weekly box office records as the highest-grossing non-musical play in history. Its penultimate performance on Saturday will be broadcast live on CNN and HBO Max, a first for a Broadway show. Through 12 weeks of its 13-week run, the stage adaptation of the showdown between journalist Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy has grossed more on Broadway ($44 million) than its source material. The 2005 film of the same name cowritten and directed by Clooney, earned just $32 million at the domestic box office despite earning six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Director. But this much is clear—Clooney didn't come to Broadway for the money. Forbes estimates the 64-year-old Clooney will earn $6 million in salary and gross royalties for his numerous roles in the show, more than any other theater performer over that span, but a fraction of what Hollywood's highest-paid actors can expect to make on each movie project. For last year's Wolfs, for instance, Forbes estimates Apple paid Clooney and his co-star Brad Pitt $30 million each. Whether it's the purity or the prestige of acting on stage—"Movies will make you famous, television will make you rich, but theatre will make you good," the Broadway stalwart Terrence Mann famously quipped—A-list stars like Clooney have become a vital of the Broadway ecosystem. Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal currently headline Othello, while Kieren Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr lead Glengarry Glen Ross. In April, Gladiator II star Paul Mescal wrapped up a run in A Streetcar Named Desire. And the 2024 theater season included Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Steve Carrell, Eddie Redmayne and Jeremy Strong, all leading non-musical plays that ran 10-16 weeks with a hard closing date to accommodate the actors' busy schedules. While Hollywood stars have made appearances on Broadway for decades, in recent years, producers and investors have been increasingly eager to stage these short-run, star-driven productions, which considerably lower their financial risk. A play typically requires a $6 to $9 million investment to get to opening night, compared to $20-25 million for new musicals, according to Forbes estimates. Weekly operating costs run in the $400,000-$600,000 range for plays versus $800,000-$900,000 for musicals. 'Your likelihood of losing all your money [as an investor] is near zero, because of the projections of sales based on that actor," says Jason Turchin, a Tony-winning producer and founder of the Broadway Investors Club. 'You may not make multiples back but you should get a healthy return.' Good Night, and Good Luck, for example, recouped its initial $9.5 million investment just seven and a half weeks into its run. Othello and Glengarry Glen Ross made their money back ($9 million and $7.5 million respectively) in nine weeks. Reputation, Reputation, Reputation: Stars such as Othello's Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington can sell out limited-edition runs on Broadway and then return to the more lucrative world of movies. While the upside of these shows is capped by the limited run, investors can expect to make 10-30% return on their capital, Turchin says. Considering only about a quarter of all Broadway shows fully pay back their investors, or less, it's the kind of safe bet he believes producers will lean into even more in future years. A-list stars meanwhile, some of whom are paid upwards of $20 million per movie, are typically given a minimum weekly salary—around $100,000 per week for the highest-level talent—as an advance against a percentage of the show's net gross, after expenses such as credit card fees and theater restoration charges are deducted from the raw receipts. An actor's gross royalty points are highly variable, but the top end can reach 10%. Other significant members of a show, such as the writers, producers, and directors, are either paid royalties from a small percentage of the gross or a larger percentage of a show's profits after recoupment. For ongoing shows, almost all have moved toward paying out of the profits to mitigate risk, but for sure-thing star vehicles—say, Hugh Jackman's year-long run in the 2022 revival of The Music Man—the standard is gross participation. Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck deal would include net gross points for starring, cowriting, producing and owning the underlying IP, adding up to his impressive total. Until this year, a Broadway actor's gross percentage only modestly exceeded the weekly minimums. Most hits gross just over $1 million per week, and over the run of a show, a star performer could expect to earn between $1-3 million. But if you're the type of actor who has made a fortune playing a superhero (Jackman), selling a tequila company (Clooney) or being one of the most bankable box office draws of the last 30 years (Washington), the money matters less. What's changed in the 2025 season is that producers are realizing just how far they can push the ticket pricing with a bankable star, particularly for the most expensive seats. Average ticket prices for Good Night, and Good Luck, Othello and Glengarry Glen Ross hover between $250-$400, and premium seats have routinely sold in the $700-$900 range, more than double the cost of top tickets to last year's star-driven plays or long-running hits like Wicked and Hamilton. Of the shows that started their runs in March, they account for three of the top four highest-grossers on Broadway, with Good Night, and Good Luck and Othello averaging more than $3 million per week, and Clooney's show cracking the previously untouchable $4 million threshold for non-musicals on three occasions. For deep-pocketed theatergoers, the appeal of seeing a movie star perform live has proven immune to traditional hurdles for other shows, such as negative reviews. According to Broadway review aggregator Did They Like It?, Good Night, and Good Luck received eight positive reviews, 9 mixed reviews and four negative reviews from major critics. Othello logged two positive reviews, 15 mixed reviews and three negative, and was completely shut out at the Tony Awards. Yet ticket sales remain robust. Last year's Robert Downey Jr.-led McNeal—his Broadway debut—was one of the worst reviewed shows of the season (one positive, five mixed, eight negative) and grossed $14 million across its 12-week run. Compare that to a play like John Proctor Is The Villain—a revisionist telling of Arthur Miller's The Crucible starring Sadie Sink of Stranger Things—which received 17 positive reviews, three mixed and one negative, plus seven Tony nominations, but averages less than $500,000 in weekly grosses, and one can quickly see the disconnect. "It does seem that theatergoers want to see Hollywood celebrities, in the same space at the same time. They crave that experience,' says one major Broadway dealmaker. 'And for the star? A standing ovation from a thousand people every night doesn't hurt the ego.'
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wicked: For Good : Trailer, Release Date, Cast, Soundtrack, and Everything You Need to Know
Courtesy of Universal If you have the first Wicked movie on repeat now that it is on streaming, that means you surely think about Wicked: For Good at least once a day. But let's recap a little. Wicked first debuted on Broadway in 2003, where Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba. The interconnected story of the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West takes place long before Dorothy drops into the wonderful land of Oz. In fact, the prequel details the unlikely friendship between the two then-aspiring witches in their youth before they became enemies, changing the fate of their lives — and Oz — for good. The Tony-winning Broadway musical — a Wizard of Oz prequel based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West — is establishing itself as a mainstay of the holiday seasons, being adapted for not one but two major motion pictures under Universal, and more and more confirmed details about the second film are slowly trickling in. The Wicked movies are led by mega pop star Ariana Grande and Tony-winner Cynthia Erivo as witches Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, and directed by Jon M. Chu of Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights fame. As people from all around the world get ready to see Wicked Part One at home, our gaze is already on Wicked Part Two — a.k.a Wicked: For Good. Below, we've gathered everything you need to know about the project. Jump to your preferred section: Announcement Plot Title explained Release date Trailer and photos Filming details Behind-the-scenes Cast Movie differences New music Previously only referred to as Wicked Part Two, Universal and director Jon M. Chu officially revealed the sequel had been renamed on December 16, 2024, and the new title will give fans of the musical goosebumps. Hold your blue-haired horses because Wicked Part Two is now officially Wicked: For Good. In case you are new here, the new title is a reference to the beloved farewell duet performed by Elphaba and Glinda towards the end of the musical. Fans have been anticipating Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's take on the song, written and composed by Stephen Schwartz, since casting was announced, and if this is any indication, it will be worth the wait. ↑BACK TO TOP Like Gregory Maguire's book, the Wicked movies follow Glinda and Elphaba as students at Shiz University, where they, despite their differences, navigate friendship, magical training, and even romance, all while discovering their own identities. The Wicked movies follow the storyline of the beloved Broadway musical adapted from the book, so you can think of Wicked Part One as the first act of the musical, which ends with 'Defying Gravity,' and the upcoming Wicked Part Two as the second act. The year-long wait between the movies is, of course, the intermission, so you have plenty of time to get the popcorn ready. Wicked Part One ends after Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard, with the former fleeing the Emerald City on a broom. Assuming it will be faithful to the musical, Part Two will begin sometime later, with Elphaba now being known as The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda as Glinda the Good, working for the Wizard. Fiyero is still looking for Elphaba, and there's a long way ahead (and a few transformations) until we can reach the curtain call. Yes! After much anticipation, Universal put out the first official trailer for on June 4, 2025, and it's a weepy one. In the trailer, which you can watch below, we get a peek at Glinda and Elphaba's reunion, getting glimpses of the pair's new lives outside of Shiz. We also see Madame Morrible plotting for Elphaba's demise while tapping Fiyero in the Wizard's squadron — all set to Cynthia Erivo's version of 'No Good Deed" before transitioning into the long-awaited 'For Good' with the two leads' vocals. We also get an appetizer of Fiyero and Elphaba's reunion before the latter ends the trailer on a familiar note: 'I'm off to see the Wizard.' Previously, only a select few were lucky enough to see the trailer at events. Universal had announced that the Wicked: For Good trailer would premiere in theaters on June 4, 2025, to coincide with the first film's one-night return to the big screen in the United States and Canada. We also have a first look at the movie with the official posters. The first poster, which you can see below, shows Elphaba and Glinda in brand-new attire as the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch facing each other from opposing cliffs with the yellow brick road leading up to the Emerald City in the ravine between them. The poster's logline is 'You will be changed,' as a nod to the lyrics in 'For Good.' A second poster was unveiled to coincide with the release of the trailer, and it features Glinda inside her bubble and Elphaba flying high with her broom on opposite sides of the frame, holding up their arms to each other à la Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. Before the trailer was released, Vanity Fair also got a bunch of exclusive first-look pictures from the upcoming movie, which you can see here. To get a better understanding of when Wicked Part Two will come out, we need to look at the release calendar of Wicked Part One. Between calendar shifts and COVID-19-related production delays, the release of the first Wicked movie was moved around quite a bit. A few months before its 2019 premiere, Universal announced that the movie had been pushed to December 22, 2021, though the pandemic set that date back, too. The next date was intended to be December 25, 2024, for Wicked: Part 1 and December 25, 2025, for Part 2. However, both dates were moved up during the spring and summer of 2023. On June 20, 2023, Deadline reported that the first film was slated for a November 27, 2024, theatrical release just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. The pub also noted the second installment would be released almost exactly one year later, on November 26, 2025. However, things changed again in 2024. On July 1, 2024, Jon M. Chu himself announced that the release date for the first Wicked movie had been moved up, setting the final official premiere for November 22, 2024. '5. DAYS. EARLIER!!!! Let's goooo!!" Chu announced on X. The date for the second movie, which was previously expected to be November 26, 2025, also changed. On September 12, 2024, official accounts announced that will premiere on November 21, 2025, ahead of Thanksgiving. Ahead of the release of Wicked: For Good, NBC and Peacock will air an all-new Wicked special led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. 'Erivo and Grande will be joined by their co-stars and other surprise guests to perform many songs from the first movie — and maybe, just maybe, a little bit from the upcoming Wicked: For Good as well — for a special that will air exclusively on NBC this November and stream on Peacock the following day.' The initial news of Universal's Wicked movie adaptation broke in 2016, with its original theatrical release set for December 20, 2019. Evidently, there have since been delays. On April 26, 2022, Chu shared news that clarified the reason behind the long wait, announcing the story would be split into two movies. 'As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,' he wrote in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter). 'As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years. We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.' Chu's two-part announcement delighted some fans while downright annoying others. On February 11, 2024, the day the first trailer dropped, Wicked producer Marc Platt defended the decision to split up the movies to Vanity Fair. 'We didn't want to end up making one four-hour movie and then cutting out songs. We want to satisfy the fans of the musical,' said Platt. 'Film allows you to create a place and a time — a university like Shiz, an extraordinary Emerald City governor's mansion. There's so much more to explore.' On December 7, 2022, Grande, Erivo, and Chu confirmed filming on the movie adaptations had begun via several Instagram Stories posts. In one post, the director shared a Wicked-themed drawing from his daughter 'to commemorate the first day of shooting.' Production temporarily shut down amid the SAG-AFTRA strike in the 2023 summer. At the time, Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz confirmed to Variety that there were only 10 days left to complete filming parts one and two. Chu also shared an update during the strike, assuring fans that the 'release date shouldn't be affected' on X: 'Not done yet. Just paused until the strike is over and we can finish the last pieces of the movie. We were only a few days away from being done so we were SO close. It's been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back! And we will finish properly strong when the time is right." And time was eventually right: Ariana Grande herself announced she had wrapped filming for both of the movies with a cryptic post on January 25, 2023. 'Like a handprint on my heart,' the star captioned a post on Instagram in reference to the song 'For Good.' The post showed the silhouette of Grande as Glinda on set. Resharing Grande's post to his stories, director Jon M. Chu wrote: 'Will never forget my year with our Galinda. Can't wait for you to meet her. Thank you Ariana Grande for pouring your heart into Oz.' In another story, Chu tagged Cynthia Erivo, adding: 'One more day left. Cynthia Erivo, are you ready?' Erivo replied: 'As ready as I'll ever be!! Let's goooooo!' As of January 26, 2024, filming on both movies had wrapped. There is, indeed. On July 24, 2024, Universal put out a two-minute behind-the-scenes featurette showing viewers how the Wicked world was built brick by brick for the movie. 'We knew that we wanted Wicked to be immersive,' director Jon M. Chu says in the video. 'What does it feel like to be in Oz? To feel it in your fingertips? If you want to be inside that world, you've got to build it.' The next few clips give us an aerial view of the set, including Emerald City and Munchkinland, being built by hand as a 1:1 recreation, including the infamous yellow bricks being painted one by one. 'A lot of it is real. physical, tangible sets,' Ariana Grande adds before Chu shows the field of tulips that were planted and the train that was built for the movie. On September 25, 2024, another featurette called Celebrating Wicked was released. The video shows some behind-the-scenes footage from the movie's filming, as well as interviews with the cast and director. Universal had also put out another Wicked featurette called Wicked - Passion Project with interviews from the cast and crew about joining the project. The two-minute featurette features scenes from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's auditions and more, with commentary from director Jon M. Chu, as well as clips from the set. You can watch it below: As previously mentioned, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star as leads Glinda and Elphaba, the blonde-haired and green-skinned witches who anchor the movies' musical extravaganza. During an appearance on Amazon Music's Zach Sang Show on February 26, 2024, Grande said she has 'never wanted something as badly' as she wanted the role of Glinda, 'hunting' producer Marc Platt for the past ten years. 'Since I was 20, I was like, 'Hey, I don't know when this is happening, but when it's happening, may I please at least just audition?'" recalled Grande. "That's all I wanted, was an audition. I've never wanted anything more.' Grande revealed that 'prepping for the auditions [took] six months," involving rigorous 'voice lessons every day [and] acting lessons every day." 'I trained every single day to prove to [Wicked producers] that I could handle taking on this other person," Grande explained to Sang. "I had to completely erase popstar Ari, the person they know so well, because it's harder to believe someone as someone else because they're so branded as one thing. I had to really go all the way to strip that down.' 'I learned so much from Glinda,' Grande continued, calling the day she got the part 'the best day of my life.' 'I kind of healed a lot of parts of myself alongside and through her. And it actually helped me heal a lot of my own personal, weird stuff that I had with my relationship with music and to being an artist.' Grande and Erivo announced their casting news in respective Instagram posts on November 4, 2021. Wicked alum Chenoweth gave the two stars her seal of approval via another IG post, which included a screenshot of one of Grande's 2011 tweets where she called Glinda her '#dreamrole.' Chenoweth wrote: 'I'm not sure if I've ever been this proud. From the very first day I met you (swipe to see!!), you were destined for this role. Congratulations @arianagrande! The best Glinda you will be with @cynthiaerivo by your side 💗💚 I love you!! 🧚♀️👑🪄 @wickedmovie @wicked_musical #wicked.' Chenoweth's former costar, Menzel, echoed similar sentiments when she commented on Grande and Erivo's casting news on X as well. 'Congrats to two amazing women,' Menzel wrote. 'May it change your lives for the better forever and ever as it has for us. So much love.' Joining Erivo and Grande in the Wicked movies is Bridgerton breakout star Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, the witches' love interest. On August 12, 2024, Universal gave us our first proper first-look at movie Fiyero in action with a teaser focused on the character and, yes, he has a British accent and is as charming as the musical's. The teaser gives us a glimpse at Ariana Grande's Glinda finding out Fiyero is in town reading The Shiz Gazette. 'Fiyero Spotted at Shiz,' the headline reads. 'Meet Oz's most eligible bachelor,' the screen then proclaims. 'I see that the responsibility to corrupt my fellow students falls to me,' cheeky Fiyero then proclaims before we get a teaser of his dynamic with both Glinda and Elphaba — IYKYK. The cast also includes Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University; Broadway veteran Ethan Slater (also Grande's rumored boyfriend) as Boq, the romantic interest of Elphaba's younger sister, Nessarose; and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard. Newcomer Marissa Bode makes feature debut as Nessarose. Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang and Lockwood & Co. actor Bronwyn James also joined the roster as Pfannee and ShenShen, respectively, Elphaba and Glinda's classmates. Additional Wicked casting includes The Greatest Showman star Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Hot Fuzz actor Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, and Aaron Teoh as Avaric. As mentioned, the Wicked movies will similarly follow the Broadway musical's plot, though star Cynthia Erivo previously teased that some parts will take a slight departure from the original material. 'I think it's going to be unlike anything you've ever seen before,' she told Entertainment Tonight in 2022. 'I think we're going to enjoy the magic of it. We're going to try and put our own spin on what we know already and show you a story about two women [who] are sisters." According to composer Schwartz, the upcoming Wicked movies will, indeed, include new musical material. Back in 2016, while speaking at a Behind the Music panel during Comic-Con, he predicted that there would 'probably four new songs in the movie." At the time, Playbill reported that three of the songs would be newly written, while one was cut from the original Broadway production. Be that as it may, on December 6, 2023, Schwartz shared an updated count of the new music with The Messenger: two brand-new songs, written exclusively for the film adaptations, will be featured in Wicked Part Two. 'There are some expansions of stuff in the first movie. The point being, the new songs were written because of the demand of the story, not, 'Oh, let's write a new song and stick it in just because,'' said Schwartz. "The storytelling required it, and therefore they were created — the intention was that they were organic and not imposed on the movie." 'It's been very important to us to make sure that it is the show, that it is the story that the fans love and that they're coming to expect and not disappoint them,' he continued. 'And at the same time, [it was also important to] be able to expand the story to make use of what the language of film and the technology of film allows you to do. As we talked about the story we wanted to tell, it was impossible really to get into one movie unless the movie were four hours long. And so the decision was made to make two movies. And consequently, there's new stuff that I think the fans will enjoy.' On March 21, 2024, director Jon M. Chu revealed to Vanity Fair that with both the new and old music, the vocals were recorded live — a stunning feat considering a few of the musical numbers require stunts with harnesses and jumps. According to Erivo, Grande even sang live while 'jumping on a chandelier over my head.' 'These are live vocals,' Chu confirmed to VF. 'When we were shooting it, those girls were like, 'F*ck the pre-records. We're going live.'' Universal released a teaser centering on the music of Wicked on October 9, 2024. The snippet previewed 'Popular,' 'Dancing Through Life,' 'The Wizard and I,' 'What Is This Feeling?', and 'Defying Gravity.' Variety confirmed the official soundtrack for the first Wicked movie with 11 songs total, which you can see below: 'No One Mourns the Wicked' 'Dear Old Shiz' 'The Wizard and I' 'What Is This Feeling?' 'Something Bad' 'Dancing Through Life' 'Popular' 'I'm Not That Girl' 'One Short Day' 'A Sentimental Man' 'Defying Gravity' Wicked Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more great Culture stories from Teen Vogue? Check these out: Underneath Chappell Roan's Hannah Montana Wig? A Pop Star for the Ages Is Your New Favorite Song Real or AI? Bridgerton Showrunner Clarifies Benedict's Sexuality & Talks Francesca's Queer Plot Twist The Borders of Country Music Are Finally Crumbling
Newsweek
40 minutes ago
- Newsweek
What Happened to Yulissa on 'Love Island USA'? Here's What We Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Yulissa Escobar's sudden exit from Love Island USA during the second episode of Season 7 has stirred speculation among fans. The departure, shown without context or explanation, left her co-stars and viewers in the dark. The twist was revealed with show narrator Iain Stirling announcing "Yulissa has left the villa" about 18 minutes into the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Yulissa, who had been coupled up with Ace Greene, was then noticeably absent from the villa. What we know What the show didn't mention—but what fans already knew—was that Yulissa had come under fire online after old podcast clips surfaced revealing a use of racial slurs. In the recordings, which spread across social media as the show launched on Tuesday night, Yulissa can be heard using the N-word multiple times while discussing past relationships, as first reported by TMZ. Newsweek has contacted both Yulissa and Peacock via email for comment. Yulissa Escobar (left) exited "Love Island USA" in the show's second episode of Season 7. Yulissa Escobar (left) exited "Love Island USA" in the show's second episode of Season 7. Ben Symons/Peacock Her social media has remained silent since the episode aired, and she has not publicly addressed the backlash. What Else Happened in 'Love Island' Last Night? Episode 2 delivered on the drama promised in the season premiere, picking up right where host Ariana Madix left viewers hanging—with the introduction of two new Bombshells, Cierra Ortega and Charlie Georgiou. After a round of raised hands from interested Islanders, Cierra and Charlie each selected one contestant for an overnight hideaway date: Nicolas Vansteenberghe and Chelley Bissainthe. Sparks flew, with Nicolas and Cierra sharing a kiss. The villa also saw its first moments of tension. Jeremiah Brown confronted Huda Mustafa over whether she kissed another contestant during a game. After clearing the air in the morning, their relationship appeared back on track. Meanwhile, Taylor Williams and Olandria Carthen navigated a similar hiccup with ease when she admitted to kissing Ace Greene. As the day progressed, the Bombshells made their rounds, getting to know the rest of the cast. Jeremiah stayed loyal to Huda, despite a chat with Cierra, and Belle-A Walker gracefully handled Nicolas breaking the news about his new connection. Couples Cierra Ortega & Nicolas Vansteenberghe Huda Mustafa & Jeremiah Brown Olandria Carthen & Taylor Williams Chelley Bissainthe & Austin Shepard Single Belle-A Walker Ace Greene Charlie Georgiou The episode ended with a surprise recoupling at the fire pit. Islanders were asked if they wanted to stay in their current pairings or opt to recouple. Cierra ultimately chose Nicolas, while Charlie was left single after no women stepped forward for him.
