Cierra Ortega broke her silence on Wednesday, just days after being removed from Season 7 of Love Island USA for using a racial slur in (at least two) social media posts from her past.
In her lengthy Instagram video, Cierra told viewers that after being back in the United States for nearly two days, she was in a space where she could speak about what happened without “being highly emotional,” while acknowledging that she is “not the victim in the situation.”
“While I was in the villa, there were some posts that resurfaced from my past where I was very naively using an incredibly offensive and derogatory term,” Cierra said. “I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended – but most importantly – the entire Asian community.
“I am deeply, truly, honestly, so sorry,” she continued.
As ‘LIUSA’ fans know, Cierra– who entered the villa this season as a bombshell in Episode 1– was removed from the Peacock series during Sunday’s episode, leaving her then-partner, Nic Vansteenberghe, “single.”
While show narrator Iain Stirling stated during Episode 30 that Cierra had left the villa “due to a personal situation,” her removal was the result of her using a racial slur in past social media posts, which had resurfaced on Reddit and X after she began filming Season 7 in Fiji.
According to People, fans discovered that Cierra had posted content containing slurs offensive to Asian people on at least two different occasions– 2015 and 2023– while describing her eyes. In her video this week, Cierra admitted that she wasn’t aware that she was using a slur at the time, insisting that if she had been aware, she never would have used it.
“ … I had no ill intention when I was using it but that’s absolutely no excuse because intent doesn’t excuse ignorance. It just doesn’t,” she told fans. “I just need you to know that I am so sorry – but this is not an apology video. This is an accountability video. 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 that it was a slur. I had no idea of its meaning.”
While Cierra said she completely agreed with the network’s decision to remove her from the villa, she admitted that the online backlash she’s been receiving has been “very hard to deal with,” particularly because some ‘LIUSA’ fans have been “approaching” her family and loved ones as a result of her actions.
“They have had ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) called on them,” she revealed. “My family doesn’t feel safe in their own home.”
Cierra also claimed that she has been receiving death threats in the wake of her racism scandal.
“ … there’s no need to fight hate with hate,” she said. “I don’t think that that’s justice. If you want to know that you are heard and that I’m sorry and that I will move differently, I promise you that’s what will happen.”
Cierra went on to assure fans that her actions moving forward will “speak louder than any apology ever could.”
“But I do need it to be known that I am sorry and I did mean no harm,” she said. “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 gonna do.
“I’m gonna take today and tomorrow and I’m gonna take strides to be better,” she added.
Cierra later posted a statement to her Instagram Story reiterating some of the comments she made in her video, while issuing another apology to the Asian community for her “thoughtless mistake and the harm it caused.”
In a statement posted to Cierra’s Instagram Story on Sunday, her parents asked fans to have compassion for their daughter, or at least for her family, who have been caught up in the backlash.
“As Cierra’s parents, this has been one of the most painful weeks of our lives,” they wrote. “We’ve seen the posts, the headlines, the hurt and the hate… We’re not here to justify or ignore what’s surfaced. We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what’s happening online right now has gone far beyond that. The threats. The cruel messages. The attacks on her family, her friends, even her supporters, it’s heartbreaking. It’s uncalled for. And no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they’ve made.”
Following Cierra’s sudden exit, Season 7 Casa Amor contestant Zak Srakaew– who was eliminated just hours after Cierra was removed from the show– revealed on social media that he and the other Season 7 cast members were not given any specifics at the time of Cierra’s departure.
“The producers gathered us all together, and then they said, ‘Unfortunately, Cierra has broken some of the policies of our guidelines. She will no longer be here in the villa and that’s the only information we can give you guys,’” he explained, as reported by People. “So when we were all in there, we didn’t really know what was going on … .”
Zak said that while Nic– who was newly “closed off” with Cierra at the time of her exit– was “really upset” to see his love interest leave the villa, he couldn’t really express it, as he was unsure of what had led to her being removed from the show.
“ … Because at the end of the day, as much as you want to 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 said.
Cierra is the second cast member to make an early exit from the ‘LIUSA’ villa this season. As The Ashley told you last month, Yulissa Escobar was swiftly removed during Episode 2 of the series due to clips circulating online in which the 27-year-old could be heard dropping the N-word (more than once) on a podcast.
After returning home, Yulissa issued an apology on Instagram, claiming she had used the racial slur “ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history or pain behind it.”
“I wasn’t trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn’t excuse impact,” she wrote. “And the impact of that word is real. It’s tied to generations of trauma, and it is not mine to use.”
Yulissa went on to address those who were “disappointed or offended” by her actions, insisting that she understood and was apologetic.
New episodes of ‘Love Island USA’ air daily, except Wednesdays, on Peacock.
Watch Cierra’s full video below.
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(Photos: Instagram; Peacock)
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