Peacock has not clarified why Ortega left the show, but her exit occurred amid online controversy over posts she allegedly made that included a derogatory term for Chinese people.

During the Sunday, July 6, episode of “Love Island USA,” narrator Iain Stirling announced that Cierra Ortega had left the show due to a “personal situation.” Prior to her shocking exit, many fans called for Ortega’s removal after discovering that she used a slur for Chinese people in several social media posts.

In this op-ed, writer Kaila Yu, the author of Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty, argues that Love Island USA season 7’s apparent removal of Cierra Ortega due to her past usage of an anti-Asian slur is exposing how much of the general public is still dismissive of anti-Asian hate.

Belle-A is the only contestant to release such a strong statement condemning Cierra’s actions, but she isn’t the only one who has spoken out. When asked about Cierra’s exit during a TikTok live, Jeremiah Brown said he didn’t “condone no type of racial slurs.”