Cierra Ortega is opening up about her exit from the villa on “Love Island USA.”
Ortega was removed from the villa on the July 6 episode of the show, which came just a week before the July 13 finale. Her removal came in the wake of viewers digging up social media posts with racial slurs.
In a nearly five-minute TikTok video shared on July 9, Ortega posted a video of herself addressing her leave from the show.
“I know a lot of people have been waiting for me to speak up about the news that’s come to light recently and now that I’ve been back in the U.S. for about 48 hours and I’ve had a chance to process, I now feel like I’m at a space where I can speak about this without being highly emotional because I am not the victim in this situation,” she began.
During the July 6 episode, “Love Island USA” narrator Iain Stirling broke the news about 15 minutes into the episode.
“Welcome back to ‘Love Island USA,’” he said after returning from a commercial break. “Cierra has left the villa due to a personal situation, leaving Nic officially single.”
In her video, Ortega didn’t shy away from addressing the resurfaced posts and that she used “an incredibly offensive and derogatory term” while expressing regret over her actions.
“And before I get into the details, I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply affected, but most importantly, the entire Asian community,” she continued. “I am deeply, truly, honestly so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain, as much harm and came the history that it did or I never would have used it.”
Ortega did not elaborate on what the term she used was, while also noting she was taking this opportunity to own what she said.
“This is not an apology video. This is an accountability video,” she said. “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 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 a slur, and in that moment, I was embarrassed,” Ortega added, saying that she “immediately deleted the post” and was “apologetic.”
She said that since the incident, she has “educated” herself on the “true meaning of the history of the word.”
Ortega continued to say she had a “good conversation” with the person who alerted her about the word, which she “immediately removed from my vocabulary.” She also pointed to screenshots that may be on the Internet indicating she still uses the term.
“The truth is that in that moment, the lesson was learned, the word was removed, and it was a true learning moment for me,” she said. “And I think since that moment, I’ve done so much growing as an individual, and I’ve tried my best to educate others who might be accidentally holding space for these types of words that could be offensive in your vocabulary.”
Ortega also said she has no issue with being kicked her off of “Love Island USA.”
“I completely agree with the network’s decision to remove me from the villa. I think that this is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment is absolutely been received, for sure,” she said.
Ortega also noted there she understands why people are angry at her, but she has been hurt by the hate directed at her family.
“I can do my best to drown out the noise and pay attention to the truth, but what’s been extremely, extremely difficult is the way people are approaching my family and my loved ones,” she said.
“They have had ICE called on them. My family doesn’t feel safe in their own home. I’m receiving death threats. There’s no need to fight hate with hate. I don’t think that that’s justice, and if you want to know that you’re heard and that I’m sorry and that I will move differently, I promise you, that’s what will happen.”
Ortega pledged to grow from this experience.
“I do need it to be known that I am sorry and I did mean no harm, and hopefully there are people out there that can use my mistake as a learning moment and to just be better, because that’s what I’m going to do,” she said.
About The Author
