Spoiler alert: Cierra Ortega is no longer in the villa! The ‘Love Island USA’ star had viewers SHOOK when the latest episode revealed her abrupt departure from season seven. Hours after the episode announced the bombshell left, social media put together a different POV. Last week, Ortega was trending after past posts showed her using a racial slur that usually targets Asian-Pacific Islanders. This week, she’s gone from the reality show. While Cierra’s parents are pleading with the internet to take it easy on her, former contestant Belle-A Walker applied a lil’ bit of accountability pressure!
If you’ve heard anyone drop the terms “bombshell” and “villa” lately, it’s probably due to ‘Love Island USA.” For context, the show is an American spin-off of the original U.K. series. It airs daily except Wednesdays. ‘Love Island’ brings young singles together in a remote villa in Fiji to explore connections with the ultimate goal of finding love and winning $100,000 as a couple through challenges. No phones or access to the outside world.
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Recap Of Resurfaced Social Media Posts
As mentioned, past social media posts seem to be at the center of her departure. Amid this last week of episodes, folks online had been blasting her over resurfaced content dating back as far as 2015. One post shows Cierra standing near a rocky formation, and her caption reads, “Still chinkin’ even at the top.” Another past post on IG Story showed a selfie of Cierra and a long paragraph about her stance on Botox. She spoke of loving the look because of her expressive face and how she can “also be a little bit ch*nky.”
Not long after the resurfaced posts floated around the ‘net, a Change.org petition was started. When The Shade Room captured a screenshot on July 7, over 17,000 people had signed it. The petition was titled “Send Cierra home #StopAsianHate.”
As mentioned, during Sunday’s episode, narrator Iain Stirling announced Cierra Ortega had departed “due to a personal situation.” According to the Associated Press, a spokesperson for the show declined to comment on Monday (July 7).
Ortega Family Speaks Out After Show Departure
Ortega’s family posted to her Instagram Story Sunday evening following the announcement of her departure. They asked the public for compassion, patience, and basic human decency.
“While Cierra is not in the villa anymore, she is still away. She hasn’t had the chance to process any of this or speak for herself,” her family wrote. “But we know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she’ll face this with honesty, growth, and grace. While she’ll always be our little girl, she’s also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice.”
Her family said they, along with Ortega’s friends and online supporters, have received threats, attacks, and cruel messages on social media. They noted that “no one deserve that kind of hate, no matter what mistakes they’ve made.” Cierra has not yet addressed her departure.
Former ‘Love Island’ Contestant Distances Herself From Cierra
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, ‘Love Island’ host Ariana Madix called for fans to stop doxxing and harassing the show’s stars. And while the internet trolls are one thing, Cierra Ortega has also caught heat from a fellow ‘Love Island’ star: Belle-A-Walker. Walker left the show earlier in season seven after being dumped.
After Cierra’s posts resurfaced, Belle took to Instagram to express heartbreak. Walker, who is Asian American, said she is “deeply appreciative” of the show’s producers “for taking a stand and making it clear that racism of any kind is not tolerated.”
“Asian hate is oftentimes overlooked and dismissed. But being a first-generation American, I have personally witnessed and experienced how real and hurtful comments like these are,” Belle-A-Walker wrote on her Instagram story page. “It is my hope that this situation can help shed light on how big of an issue anti-Asian hate really is.”
Belle-A-Walker confirmed that she initially wanted to give Cierra space to genuinely apologize. However, as the screenshots kept coming, she decided to pivot her support and unfollow Ortega on social media. While Belle-A-Walker shamed bigotry and racism, she discouraged others from “leaving unkind comments to or about this person.”
Cierra Ortega’s Man In The Villa Moved On QUICK!
As suggested with the petition, the word “ch*nky” has long been considered a racial slur towards people of API descent. Social media sounded off on Monday and Tuesday with mixed reactions to the reality series dropping Cierra. Swipe through the post below to see what the internet streets were saying about Ortega’s departure from ‘Love Island USA.’
Cierra Ortega entered the villa at the end of the first episode as a bombshell, meaning she came in after the show began, ready to stir the pot! She quickly coupled up with Nic Vansteenberghe, with whom she stayed until her departure. Her exit broke up one of the few consistent couples of the season. The couple had just announced a few episodes prior that they were “closed off.” That’s ‘Love Island’ code to alert the others that neither contestant wants to explore a connection with any other islander.
“Before Cierra had left, my mind was clear. I knew what the future would look like, and now, I’m lost,” Vansteenberghe said during Sunday’s episode.
Vansteenberghe stayed on the show as a single islander after Ortega left. Ultimately, he re-coupled with fellow contestant Olandria Carthen before the end of the episode.
RELATED: ‘Love Island’ Star Hannah Smith Apologizes To Black Community For Hateful Language During Arrest
Associated Press Entertainment contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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