What ‘Love Island USA’ cast was told about Cierra Ortega’s sudden exit

Recently “dumped” Islander Zak Srakaew is revealing what the “Love Island USA” Season 7 cast was told after Cierra Ortega’s sudden exit from the show following an off-screen slur scandal.

“When Cierra left, the producers gathered us all together, and they said, ‘Unfortunately, Cierra has broken some of the policies of our guidelines. She’ll no longer be here in the villa. And that’s the only information we can give you guys,’” Srakaew shared in a TikTok Live on Tuesday.

“And if we need somebody to speak to, go speak to them,” Srakaew added, explaining that he and his co-stars “didn’t really know what was going on.”

According to Srakaew, Nic Vansteenberghe — who had been coupled up with Ortega — took the news the hardest.

“Nic was really upset that she left, but at the same time, he couldn’t really be super upset, or like, he couldn’t express how he feels about the situation until he found out what she’s done or what she’s said,” Srakaew said.

“At the end of the day, as much as you wanna feel sorry for somebody, if you know they got removed from a show for saying something offensive, you can’t really feel sorry for them until you know what it is,” he elaborated.

During Sunday’s episode of the Peacock reality series, narrator Iain Stirling announced that Ortega had “left the villa due to a personal situation.”

As the influencer, 25, skyrocketed to fame, internet sleuths uncovered that she used an Asian slur on Instagram at least twice: once in 2015 and again in 2023.

Netizens fumed, with many demanding things like, “GET HER OUT NOW,” “get her off the show now” and “get her off my screen NOW.”

One of several also argued, “This is going to show a huge double standard for love island if they don’t kick her off.”

The message was in reference to Yulissa Escobar, who entered the Fiji villa as part of the first batch of Islanders on Season 7. Escobar left the show just one day after its premiere when videos of her using a different racial slur resurfaced.

While Ortega has yet to address the scandal, her parents posted a lengthy statement on her behalf via her Instagram Story.

“We know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she’ll face this with honesty, growth, and grace,” they penned in part.

“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. Until then, we’re simply asking for compassion.”