'Love Island USA' star speaks out about what cast was told when Cierra left

USA Today

4 days ago

Zak Srakaew is sharing insight into fellow cast member Cierra Ortega's abrupt departure a week before the "Love Island USA" finale.
The model – who hails from Manchester, England – got ahold of his phone after his elimination from the villa and took to TikTok to engage with his new followers. In a livestream, he opened up about the moment the islanders found out that Cierra would no longer be on the show.
"The producers gathered us all together, and then they said, 'Unfortunately, Cierra has broken some of the policies of our guidelines. She will no longer be here in the villa, and that's the only information we can give you guys,'" he said, per screen recordings shared on social media.
In the week leading up to her departure, uproar began over Cierra's uses of a racist slur against people of Asian descent as screenshots of a few alleged Instagram posts and messages in recent years were circulated on social media. On July 6, Cierra was phased out of the Peacock romance-competition show, where she debuted at the end of the first episode on June 3.
Zak added, "When we (were) all in there, we didn't really know what was going on, but that's the only thing they said to us."
What happened? What we know about Cierra Ortega's 'Love Island USA' exit
Cierra was seen earlier in Episode 30 but mostly wasn't shown on screen. By the afternoon – 15 minutes into the episode – narrator Iain Stirling announced she "has left the villa due to a personal situation." She and her partner, Nic Vansteenberghe, were the only couple to label themselves as exclusive, and Nic was shown briefly confiding in his friends about moving forward without Cierra.
"Nic was really upset that she left, but at the same time he couldn't really be super upset or he couldn't express how he feels about a situation until he found out what she's done or what she's said," Zak said in his TikTok live.
"Because at the end of the day, as much as you want to feel sorry for somebody, if you know they got removed from a show for saying something offensive, you can't really feel sorry for them until you know what it is."
Zak, who had a personal connection to the show through his friend – and Season 6 runner-up – Miguel Harichi, was dumped alongside fellow Casa Amor contestant Elan Bibas later in the episode, following a recoupling.
USA TODAY has reached out to the show's representatives for comment.
'Love Island USA' cast: Who's still in the villa and who's been dumped (and why)
Cierra's family denounced 'attacks' as she left 'Love Island'
Though "Love Island USA" has not issued any statement about Cierra's exit through official channels, a message attributed to her family was posted on her Instagram story on the evening of July 6. (Cast members do not regain access to their phones for a certain amount of time.)
"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 lengthy statement said, in part.
"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."
Cierra wasn't the only contestant whose past use of racial epithets appeared to result in them leaving the show. Yulissa Escobar, who was part of the starting cast, quietly disappeared from the show early in the second episode. She later addressed widespread criticism of her usage of a racial slur for Black people on a podcast.
"In those clips, I used a word I never should've used, a racial slur. I used it ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history, or pain behind it," she wrote in a June 6 Instagram post. "I wasn't trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn't excuse impact. And the impact of that word is real. It's tied to generations of trauma, and it is not mine to use."
In a July 4 TikTok video, Yulissa revealed she was allegedly pulled aside by producers and was simply told "a video resurfaced." After she had access to her phone and found out about the online uproar, she said, "I can't believe people think I'm racist. I mean, I get it; I said a word that I should have not said. But man, I wish I would've never said that."