Love Island USA’s Huda Mustafa issued an apology to her season 7 costar, Olandria Carthen, amid a controversial livestream with her boyfriend, Louis Russell.
Huda, 25, posted a statement to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, October 29, after she and Louis — a cast member on season 3 of Netflix’s Perfect Match — appeared to laugh at a racial slur used on a recent livestream hosted by Louis. A caller used the N-word to refer to Olandria, 27, per a clip published by TMZ. Huda and Louis appeared taken aback and giggled before ending the call.
After posting an initial statement on Tuesday, October 28, Huda shared an apology on Wednesday to “more fully take accountability for my actions,” she wrote.
“I want to begin by saying I completely respect Olandria, and it’s extremely disheartening that anyone, especially a presumed child, would find it excusable to use this type of language, and doing so only underlines the ignorance of the gravity that such a word carries,” Huda began.
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“Olandria — it is now clear that this comment was targeted at you, and I apologize for my immediate reaction. My reaction in that moment came from being caught off guard, not from finding the word or situation funny,” she explained. “It was a nervous, uncomfortable reaction that I recognize was inappropriate. I want to be clear that I do not condone or tolerate anyone who uses such language, and I strongly encourage the individual responsible to reflect deeply on their words and the harm they’ve caused.”
Huda said she would be making a “personal donation to the NAACP,” and encouraged others to do the same.
Earlier on Wednesday, Olandria — who came second on Love Island USA season 7 with Nic Vansteenberghe — reacted to the controversial livestream in her own statement posted to her Instagram Stories.
“I do not condone racism of any kind, nor do I entertain it. That kind of language is never acceptable. Not in anger, not as a joke, not ever,” Olandria wrote. “Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going. Defending it, laughing about it, or making excuses is even worse.”
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“I will not let this moment derail my purpose of uplifting my community. I’m standing firm in who I am and using this as an opportunity to call for real accountability and awareness. We all have a role in building a culture where speaking to one another with respect is the standard, and where speaking against hate speech is the bare minimum,” she continued.
Olandria went on, “While I anticipate this will result in surface level apologies that fade in a few days, I’d like to transform this moment into something actionable. I encourage those who have participated in the stream and their followers to demonstrate a genuine commitment to anti-racism by donating to organizations and foundations dedicated to educating and uplifting this community, such as the UNCF, NAACP, and/or the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. I will be making a personal donation as well.”
In his own Instagram statement, Louis, 24, also issued an apology “to those affected by the caller who used language that completely goes against everything we stand for.”
“Huda and I were extremely caught off guard. As a Black man, I have greater empathy through my own lived experiences battling racism, and the idea that a flustered response to a very unnerving situation could be misinterpreted for me not taking the matter seriously is incredibly disheartening,” he wrote.
“I was extremely shocked that someone would so casually use harmful and dangerous language, and Huda and I both recognized the immediate need to end the call so we could process what had just happened,” Louis continued. “We were shocked that what sounded like a young caller could so thoughtlessly speak that way.”
“This was an extremely unfortunate situation, one that in no way reflects my values, nor Huda’s,” Louis concluded. “We are both very proud of the way we’ve used our platforms to be a voice for those who are often under-represented, especially on TV. We are even more motivated now to approach every audience interaction with respect, inclusivity, and care.”
