“Love Island USA” contestant Cierra Ortega is taking responsibility for her actions after she was removed from the Peacock series for past use of a slur on social media.
In a Wednesday night Instagram video, the season seven islander admitted she agreed with producers’ decision to remove her from the villa while insisting this wasn’t an apology but a chance for her to hold herself accountable.
“I know a lot of people have been waiting for me to talk about the news that recently broke, and now that I’ve been back in the US for about 48 hours and have had a chance to process, I feel like I’m in a space where I can talk about it without being highly emotional because I’m not the victim in this situation,” she began. “While I was in the villa, there were some posts that resurfaced from my past where I was naively using an incredibly offensive and derogatory term. Before I get into the details, I want to start by addressing not just anyone who I was hurt by or deeply offended by.
“I had no idea the word held so much pain, so much damage, and came with the history that she would never use it. I had no ill intent when I was using it, but that’s absolutely no excuse, because intent doesn’t excuse ignorance. It just doesn’t happen, and I just need to know that I’m sorry,” Ortega continued. “But this is not an apology video, this is an accountability video. I do want to hold my hands up and say that I take accountability for using the word, but I do want it to be known that I genuinely had no idea that it was a slur. I had no idea of its meaning, and it wasn’t until I made the public story post in 2024 when a follower of mine reached out to correct me and let me know that what I was saying was incredibly hurtful, it was a derogatory term, it was an insult.”
The 25-year-old explained that once a follower of hers explained that the word in question was indeed an insult, she removed it from her vocabulary, contrary to other viral posts that suggest she “doubled down” on its use.
“Since that moment, I’ve grown so much as an individual and tried my best to educate others who might be accidentally holding space for these kinds of words that could be offensive in their vocabulary,” Ortega said. “I completely agree with the network’s decision to remove me from the village. I think this is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment was absolutely received, for sure. I think the backlash was obviously very difficult to deal with, but I understand that people are kind of confused about why I would have said or why I was ‘doubling down’ and continue to use it, like, I would have said, like, ‘I would have what,’ and I would have, and I would have, and I would have, and I would have, and I would have, and I would have, even though I hated it and continued to use it, like, ‘I would have,’ and I would have, …
“I can do my best to drown out the noise and pay attention to the truth, but what has been extremely, extremely difficult is the way people are approaching my family and my loved ones,” she shared. “They’ve had ice called on them. My family doesn’t feel safe in their own home. I’m getting death threats, like, there’s no need to fight hate with hate. I don’t think that’s justice. And if you want to know that you’re heard and that I’m sorry and that I’ll move differently, I promise, that’s what will happen.”
“I know that no apology could ever be enough for the harm I’ve caused and the offense taken. I know that moving forward, my actions and how I decide to live my life from here on out, is going to speak louder than any apology ever could, but I do need it to be known that I am sorry and I did not mean any harm, and hopefully there are people out there who can use my mistake as a learning moment and to just be better, because that’s what I’m going to do,” Ortega concluded her message. “I will take today and tomorrow, and I will take the steps to improve, and all I can ask is, even if you don’t give me forgiveness, if you can just allow me to grow with grace. And I hope, instead of sitting here and trying to convince you that I’m an amazing person, that I am deeper.
Ortega’s removal marked the second contestant from “Love Island USA” season 7 to leave the show this summer due to racial slurs. In early June, Yulissa Escobar was kicked off the show after just two episodes when podcast clips resurfaced showing her using racial slurs.
The “Love Island USA” season finale airs Sunday on Peacock.
