Not so lovely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLove Island USA\u201d star Cierra Ortega, 25, made a shocking and abrupt exit from the Peacock reality dating series on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Sunday, narrator Iain Stirling made the vague announcement that Ortega left the American version of the hit reality dating franchise due to a \u201cpersonal situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The content creator\u2019s swift departure comes amid backlash to her past social media posts that allegedly contained racial slurs aimed at Chinese people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Post reached out to NBC and Peacock for comment.<\/p>\n
Cierra Ortega on \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n
Cierra Ortega on \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d cierra.ortega\/Instagram<\/p>\n
Since the post went viral, the former \u201cLove Island\u201d star lost over 200,000 followers within 48 hours. She had been in a relationship with Nic Vansteenberg, and her departure leaves him single.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ortega has yet to comment, but her parents posted a statement on her Instagram Stories<\/a> on Sunday, calling it \u201cone of the most painful weeks of our lives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n They wrote, \u201cWe\u2019re not here to justify or ignore what\u2019s surfaced. We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what\u2019s happening online right now has gone far beyond that.\u201d<\/p>\n They explained that Ortega hadn\u2019t seen the social media backlash yet, as she was secluded in the \u201cLove Island\u201d villa in Fiji and then continued to be offline.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLove Island USA\u201d star Cierra Ortega\u2019s parents\u2019 Instagram statement. cierra.ortega\/Instagram<\/p>\n Cierra Ortega on \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n Cierra Ortega and Nicolas Vansteenberghen on \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n \u201cThe threats. The cruel messages. The attacks on her family, her friends, even her supporters, it\u2019s heartbreaking,\u201d the statement continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s uncalled for. And no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they\u2019ve made. While Cierra is not in the villa anymore, she is still away. She hasn\u2019t had the chance to process any of this or speak for herself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut we know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she\u2019ll face this with honesty, growth, and grace,\u201d the statement concluded. \u201cWhile she\u2019ll always be our little girl, she\u2019s also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice. Until then, we\u2019re simply asking for compassion. For patience. For basic human decency. Not just for her, but for everyone caught in the middle of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Cierra Ortega on \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n Cierra Ortega\u2019s controversial social media post from 2015. Cierra Ortega\/Instagram<\/p>\n Ortega\u2019s departure is just the latest \u201cLove Island\u201d scandal.<\/p>\n Earlier this season, fellow Islander Yulissa Escobar also exited after past racist comments resurfaced<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the cast was first announced, fans quickly uncovered two podcast clips where Escobar could be heard using the N-word.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I\u2019m f\u2013king my [N-word], he\u2019s my [N-word],\u201d she says in a video shared on Reddit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cierra Ortega\u2019s controversial Instagram Story. Cierra Ortega\/Instagram<\/p>\n In a July TikTok, Escobar said, \u201cI had gotten called to the front and then I met one of the producers and they asked me to take my mic off. I figured something serious was kind of happening. I honestly got scared. I thought something happened with a family member.\u201d<\/p>\n She explained, \u201cThey didn\u2019t really tell me anything. They just said that a video resurfaced on the internet and it\u2019s not looking too good. I didn\u2019t really know what video or what I was saying or what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Due to being sequestered,Escobar said she was in her hotel room \u201closing my mind\u201d without social media access. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what was going on. I just knew that there was a video out there,\u201d she explained. \u201cI get it. I said a word that I should have not said. But I wish I would have never said that. It is what it is. I can\u2019t go back in time. I am sorry that I said that word.\u201d<\/p>\n Iris Kendall, Hannah Fields, Amaya Espinal, Olandria Carthen, Megan Thee Stallion, Michelle Chelley, Bissainthe, Huda Mustafa and Cierra Ortega on \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n Following Ortega\u2019s exit, fellow Islander Belle-A Walker, who was dumped from the villa, also took to social media to address the scandal in her Instagram Stories<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first saw what my fellow Islander said on their social media pages, I was incredibly heartbroken,\u201d Walker wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAs screenshots continued to surface, it became clear that I could no longer support this person, and made the decision to unfollow them a couple of days ago,\u201d she continued. \u201cAsian hate is oftentimes overlooked and dismissed. But being a first-generation American, I have personally witnessed and experienced how real and hurtful comments like these are.\u201d<\/p>\n New episodes of \u201cLove Island USA\u201d air every night, except Wednesdays, at 9 p.m. on Peacock.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t