CNN
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Cierra Ortega, whose recent dramatic exit from the popular reality series \u201cLove Island USA\u201d caused a stir, has broken her silence.\n <\/p>\n
\n Viewers have been searching for answers after her exit a week before the dating show\u2019s Season 7 finale<\/a>, which the series attributed to a \u201cpersonal situation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n There was no further explanation, but social media posts from 2015 and 2023 had circulated online that appeared to show Ortega using a racial slur, according to reporting by the Daily Mail.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n Ortega posted a video on social media on Wednesday and said had time to \u201cprocess\u201d what happened and made clear that she was not \u201cthe victim.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhile 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,\u201d she said. \u201cBefore I get into the details, I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Ortega said she was \u201cdeeply, truly, honestly so sorry.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI 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,\u201d she said. \u201cI had no ill intention when I was using it, but that\u2019s absolutely no excuse because intent doesn\u2019t excuse ignorance.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The 25-year-old said hers wasn\u2019t an \u201capology video,\u201d but one of accountability and reiterated that she \u201cgenuinely didn\u2019t know it was a slur.\u201d\n <\/p>\n\n\n<\/blockquote>\n