‘Love Island USA’: A new racial-slur scandal rocks the villa ahead of the season premiere

The upcoming season of “Love Island USA,” premiering Tuesday, will be missing one contestant due to a recent scandal involving a racial slur.

Vasana Montgomery, a beauty technician from Beaverton, Oregon, will not be appearing on the new season of “Love Island USA,” according to The Times. The reality show removed Montgomery from the cast just days after announcing the new “Islanders,” following the discovery of videos online where she appears to have used a racial slur.

Montgomery isn’t the first “Love Island USA” contestant to receive criticism for racist language. Last year, Cierra Ortega left the show after facing backlash for a slur she used against people of Chinese and Asian descent in previous social media posts. Before that, Yulissa Escobar was eliminated early in the season after using a racial slur against Black people, sparking outrage online.

Television

Yulissa Escobar was removed from ‘Love Island USA’ after appearing for less than 20 minutes in the second episode. The reason for her departure appears to be the use of a racial slur in past podcast recordings.

A short video shared online over the weekend appears to show actor Montgomery reciting a racial slur while rapping along to a song. According to reports from TMZ and Variety, the video also captures him using the slur during an arcade game. Montgomery hasn’t publicly responded to requests for comment as of Monday.

As a huge reality TV fan, I’ve been following the drama around ‘Love Island USA,’ and I’m hearing some interesting details. Apparently, someone with knowledge of the show told The Times that the videos causing all the controversy popped up on social media from a private account after the cast was officially announced. What’s really key here is that because the account was private, the show’s vetting process on Peacock wouldn’t have been able to see them beforehand. It’s a bit of a messy situation, but that’s what makes reality TV so fascinating, right?

In Peacock’s cast reveal published Thursday, Montgomery describes herself as “the full package.”

Television

Cierra Ortega, who was removed from ‘Love Island’ after racist posts from her social media appeared, insists she isn’t the one being harmed by the situation.

In a recent video, she explained that she’s a business owner who lives by herself with her dog. When asked about her dating preferences, she joked that her friends would need a world map to show everyone the variety of people she’s interested in.

Season 8 of “Love Island USA” kicks off on Tuesday without host Montgomery, and this season includes several contestants from Southern California. You can watch it on Peacock starting at 6 p.m., with new episodes dropping every day except Wednesdays, beginning this week.

“Vanderpump Rules” alum Ariana Madix returns to host.

Read More

2026-06-02 03:01