Cierra Ortega, a contestant of this summer’s “Love Island USA” left the villa just a week before the finale of the hit reality series is set to air on Peacock.
Her departure, announced Sunday, followed weeks of uproar from viewers after old posts from Ortega resurfaced that contained a racial slur against Asian people. The show’s narrator, Iain Stirling, announced Ortega had departed “due to a personal situation” early in Sunday’s episode.
Ortega becomes the second contestant this season to depart the show amid controversy due to past social media posts. Yulissa Escobar abruptly exited last month in the second episode after clips of her using racist language resurfaced online. Her departure was also not explained in the show.
A spokesperson for the show declined to comment Monday.
Ortega’s family posted to her Instagram story Sunday evening following the announcement of her departure, asking the public “for compassion. For patience. For basic
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