'Love Island USA' Season 7 Winner Addresses Cierra Ortega Scandal

Newsweek

a day ago

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Love Island USA Season 7 winner Amaya "Papaya" Espinal has spoken out about her co-star Cierra Ortega's sudden exit from the series.
During Wednesday's episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the reality television star condemned Ortega's prior use of a racial slur.
Newsweek reached out to Ortega's representative via email on Thursday for comment.
The Context
Ortega was ousted from the villa over a resurfaced social media post in which she used a racial slur toward the Asian community.
In a video posted to her Instagram on July 10, Ortega, who had been dating Nicolas Vansteenberghe before leaving the show, issued an apology.
"While I was in the villa, there were some posts that resurfaced from my past where I was very naively using an incredibly offensive and derogatory term," she said.
"I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community. I am deeply, truly, honestly so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain as much harm, and came with the history that it did or I never would have used it. I had no ill intention when I was using it, but that's absolutely no excuse because intent doesn't excuse ignorance."
"Love Island USA" stars Amaya Espinal (L) and Cierra Ortega (R).
"Love Island USA" stars Amaya Espinal (L) and Cierra Ortega (R).
Ben Symons/Peacock
What To Know
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper brought up the topic during her conversation with Espinal, who won the hit reality TV series alongside Bryan Arenales on Sunday.
"A huge moment this season was when Cierra abruptly left the villa. Can you talk to me just from your perspective as an Islander, what went down?" Cooper asked.
"Dude, literally we all started the morning together, and then out of nowhere, she did disappear, and we all were just asking, where was Cierra?" Espinal said. "I remember asking, I was like, 'Do you guys know where Cierra went?' And then same thing with Nic [Vansteenberghe]. I was like, 'Nic, where's Cierra?' We all genuinely did not know. So we did not get the chance to say goodbye."
"We weren't able to see her pack her bags. It literally just happened in the flash of an eye. It felt very unreal in a way. Like what is going on?" the fan-favorite added.
"Where were you guys when she clearly went and packed her bags?" Cooper asked, to which Espinal replied: "We were all in the villa. We literally were all just hanging out."
"You were like outside?" questioned Cooper.
"Outside. And she was gone."
When Espinal was asked how she felt about the situation, she said that "words matter."
"Everyone should be respected. I just hope that she learns from her consequences. You know, she is a grown woman, so hopefully moving on forward, it's just like, this should not be repeated," she said.
"Love Island USA" stars Amaya Espinal (L) and Cierra Ortega (R) during episode 14.
"Love Island USA" stars Amaya Espinal (L) and Cierra Ortega (R) during episode 14.
Ben Symons/Peacock
What People Are Saying
Bachelorette star Jenn Tran on TikTok on July 4: "Obviously, there's been a lot of stuff circulating online about Cierra and her racist C-slur that she said on her Instagram. First of all, I know that girl is not living under a rock, so she knows she shouldn't be using that word. There's no excuse for it. That's, like, first and foremost. I know there are certain words that I can't use because of the negative connotation that goes behind it, and I choose to be a good person and not offend other people. Simple.
"Secondly, the way in which she even used the word. The post that she made was of her referring to her eyes and how she had to get Botox because she didn't like the way she looked, because it was too C-wordy. And I hope to God this woman does not have a platform because the fact she felt that was OK to say just makes me so upset."
Ortega's Love Island USA co-star Belle-A Walker on Instagram on July 6: "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.
"When I first saw what my fellow Islander said on their social media pages, I was incredibly heartbroken. But I wanted to wait until they left the villa and were able to address the situation, genuinely apologize, and commit to learning from the experience before deciding how our relationship would look moving forward."
What Happens Next
The Love Island USA Season 7 reunion will take place on August 25 on Peacock.