Love Island USA - Season 7

Photo: Peacock/Ben Symons/Peacock

Another Bombshell is being asked to leave the Villa by the fans. After a social media post with a racial slur made by Cierra Ortega resurfaced online, Love Island USA fans are asking Peacock to remove her from the island for good, similar to what happened with Yulissa Escobar earlier this season. So what did Cierra write, and what has Peacock done about it?

On July 1, a resurfaced Instagram Story that Cierra posted in 2023 was shared, where she talking about getting botox injected into her face. “I am incredibly expressive with my face and I catch myself frowning for no reason throughout the day when I’m focusing on something or thinking too hard lol,” Cierra wrote. “I can also be a little ch*nky when I laugh/smile so. I love getting a mini brow lift to open up my eyes and get that snatched look.” Another post from 2015 showed Cierra using the same slur again.

Before the posts resurfaced, Cierra was getting close to 1 million followers on Instagram. Since July 1 she’s lost an estimated 238,000 followers.

Several influencers have spoken out, including former Love Island cast member Johnnie Olivia, disapproving of Cierra’s language and separating themselves from her. “I’m sure many of you have noticed that I’ve refrained from talking about Love Island and have stopped publicly supporting my friend on the show. This was after I saw a post involving a racial slur for the first time,” Johnnie wrote. “I loved supporting her during her time on the show, but once I came across that post, I felt it was necessary to take a step back. I do not support or condone that kind of language never have, never will.”

MJ, Cierra’s friend who has been managing her social media, shared that she’ll be stepping back from posting on her behalf. “I want to be clear that I do not condone racism, bigotry or hate in any way shape or form, nor was I aware of the recent screenshots until they were posted. I discovered it at the same time as all of you did,” MJ shared in a statement on Instagram. “I cannot speak for anybody or make any statements besides my own, and decided to take a step back from running her account. I was asked by her family to turn off comments and refrain from speaking on her behalf.”

Meanwhile, host Ariana Madix has told fans in the comments of TikTok posts that she is“not silent” on the issue, hinting that she may be speaking up behind the scenes on Cierra’s behavior.

When the original cast was first announced, viewers discovered that Yulissa used a racial slur on a podcast several years ago and called for her removal. Producers acted swiftly, and after two days in Fiji, Yulissa was gone.

On Sunday night’s episode, announcer Iain Stirling reported that Cierra had left the villa “due to a personal situation.” Which was slightly more than what he’d said for Yulissa: a completely contextless “Yulissa has left the villa.”

While there’s no official statement from Love Island USA or Peacock, The Sun reports that producers are “furious” that Cierra would use racist language in a post. An inside source alleges, “Cierra is in deep trouble, that is for sure. This kind of language is unacceptable. It was a huge disappointment when we saw it. Everyone is very, very bothered and pissed about that. We will hold a meeting to decide what we should do… but it doesn’t look great at all for Cierra as a lot of us want to take her out of the show as soon as possible.” Many fans have taken offense at why it’s taken so long for Peacock to take action, calling it a double standard in how quickly it was to remove Yulissa vs Cierra.

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