Love Island USA’s Jeremiah Brown spoke out after Cierra Ortega was removed from the villa after it was revealed that previously using a racial slur.
During a TikTok Live on Monday, July 7, which was shared by fans on social media, Jeremiah was asked his thoughts on the scandal.
“I don’t condone no type of racial slurs,” he said, “That racial stuff is weird to me. I have been dealing with that my whole life. Racial stuff is never cool.”
Jeremiah later uploaded several videos of him spending time with costars Austin Shepard, Hannah Fields, Charlie Georgiou and Belle-A Walker, who have all been dumped from the villa. Cierra, for her part, left the villa “due to a personal situation,” according to narrator Iain Stirling’s announcement during the Sunday, July 6, episode of the hit Peacock series.
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Before Cierra was pulled from season 7, social media users resurfaced Cierra’s past post, which included an offensive slur. As a result, her social media handler and friend MJ Hedderman announced she was taking “a step back” amid the drama.
“Hi guys, I see your comments concerning someone I love and care about. I want to be clear that I do not condone racism, bigotry or hate in any way shape or form, nor was I aware of the recent screenshots until they were posted,” read MJ’s Instagram Story from Friday, July 4. “I discovered it at the same time as all of you did.”
MJ continued: “I cannot speak for anybody or make any statements besides my own, and decided to take a step back from running her account. I was asked by her family to turn off comments and refrain from speaking on her behalf. This situation has been really difficult, and I’m still processing everything.”
Cierra is the second Islander to shockingly depart the villa. Yulissa Escobar was introduced as an OG Islander, but by the second episode, she was gone. Yulissa’s exit came after clips of her using racial slurs on a podcast circulated online. She recently revealed how she was removed from the villa.
“I had gotten called to the front and then I met one of the producers and they asked me to take my mic off,” she explained in a July TikTok. “I figured something serious was kind of happening. I honestly got scared. I thought something happened with a family member. They didn’t really tell me anything. They just said that a video resurfaced on the internet and it’s not looking too good. I didn’t really know what video or what I was saying or what I did.”
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Yulissa recalled not knowing what caused her to be pulled until she got her phone back “two days” later.
“They were waiting for the two episodes that I was in to air. I was literally in my hotel room losing my mind because I didn’t know what was going on,” she noted. “I just knew that there was a video out there. I get it. I said a word that I should have not said. But I wish I would have never said that. It is what it is. I can’t go back in time. I am sorry that I said that word.”
Jeremiah was still in the villa when Yulissa left, which he discussed on the “Speedy Morman” show in June, explaining, “They personally never told me anything. They never told us in the villa. They said she left for personal reasons — I can say that. I found out later after getting my phone back that it was because of whatever happened.”
New episodes of Love Island USA will be released six days a week — except for Wednesdays — on Peacock. The season 7 finale is set to air Sunday, July 13.
