Unlike Albanian shows, in foreign ones like "Love Island USA", violent and racist language is intolerable, even if it is discovered that you used it before becoming part of the reality show . Here's what happened to Cierra Ortega, one of the contestants of season seven.
Midway through the season, a refresh of Cierra's past images revealed an Instagram story (from 2024) where she used a racist term towards the Asian community, an expression that in the US is considered extremely offensive to this community.
This post was retweeted by fans, immediately sparking a reaction on the network. In it, Cierra explained why Botox was the ideal solution for her since she has a face that makes a lot of facial expressions. She further added that when she laughs, her face tends to resemble that of an Asian person, at which point she used the term "ch*nk", which is a mockery of the Asian community for their facial features, small eyes and wide face.
The network was flooded with criticism and the decision was not long in coming, she was expelled from "Love Island USA", due to what was labeled as a "personal situation". Without a doubt, the post with the racist term was the real reason. She was expelled just a few days before the final, leaving her partner, Nic, alone in the villa.
Why did it make such a big fuss?
This is not the first time this season has been affected. A few weeks ago, another contestant, Yulissa Escobar, was eliminated for racist remarks that were revealed from her past. The American media is calling this season the "racist scandal" season on Love Island.
In a context where America is facing a rise in anti-Asian hate, the public reaction was harsh. The aforementioned community, reality fans , and even other contestants reacted with criticism. Including Belle?A Walker, a former Asian-American contestant, who often made a comment on the situation:
"I hope this case helps everyone understand how much of a problem anti-Asian hate is."
Request for forgiveness
Cierra immediately returned to the US and on July 9 released a nearly five-minute video, which she described as a video in which she took responsibility for her actions. She said:
"I am deeply, sincerely and wholeheartedly very sorry. I had no idea that word carried so much pain. Intention does not excuse ignorance."
View this post on Instagram
She further emphasized that she supports the production's decision to fire her and considered the critical news a justifiable consequence of her bad example.
But in the meantime, the situation has not calmed down, her family, according to her, has received successive threats, so Cierra asked the public not to continue trying to stop hate with hate.
In the end, the situation makes us reflect on the way in which any act or use of violent language is faced in our country on reality shows and our television screens in general.
