What To Know
- Vasana Montgomery was removed from Love Island USA Season 8 after videos surfaced of her using a racial slur.
- Montgomery has not publicly addressed her removal, and it is unclear if she had started filming before being pulled from the show.
- This incident follows similar removals in Season 7, where contestants Yulissa Escobar and Cierra Ortega were also cut for using racial slurs in past videos or social media posts.
Love Island USA just pulled a contestant, Vasana Montgomery, for allegedly using a racial slur in videos that surfaced just days before the Season 8 premiere.
On Saturday, May 30, two videos circulated online of Montgomery — a 25-year-old salon owner from Beaverton, Oregon — using the N-word. People has since confirmed that Montgomery was cut from the show.
The damning clips came just two days after Peacock announced the 12 singles featured in Love Island USA Season 8, premiering on June 2. In a promotional video ahead of the premiere, Montgomery declared, “I think I am the full package. I own a business, I live alone, I have a dog. If you were to ask my friends what my type is, they’d show you the world map.”
As of writing, Montgomery has not publicly addressed her abrupt exit from Love Island USA or the slur. It’s unclear whether she had already begun filming for Love Island USA before Peacock pulled her from the show.
This isn’t the first time a Love Island USA contestant has been removed over the use of a racial slur. In Season 7, clips of Yulissa Escobar using the N-word surfaced on social media, and she was axed from the show. She later spoke out about the videos, sharing via Instagram, “I want to apologize for using a word I had no right in using. Podcast clips from years ago have recently resurfaced, and I want to address it directly.”
Escobar explained, “In those clips, I used a word I never should’ve used, a racial slur. I used it ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history, or pain behind it. I wasn’t trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn’t excuse impact. And the impact of that word is real. It’s tied to generations of trauma, and it is not mine to use. At the time, I was speaking casually in conversation, not thinking deeply or critically about what I was saying. But that doesn’t take away from how wrong it was. The truth is, I didn’t know better then, but I do now. I’ve taken the time to reflect, to learn, and to grow from that moment.”
That same season, Cierra Ortega was removed from the villa over a social. media post that showed her using a racial slur.
“I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community. I am deeply, truly, honestly so sorry,” she said in a clip shared on Instagram. “I 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.”
She also acknowledged that “intent doesn’t excuse ignorance” and took “accountability” for using the slur, while also admitting that she “genuinely had no idea that it was a slur” at the time.
Love Island USA, premiering on Tuesday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock