Following this week’s ‘Love Island USA’ Season 8 reunion, Kayda Bosse was seemingly dropped from a charity champaign with Step Up Women’s Network. In addition to losing the brand deal, Kayda has also been hemorrhaging followers on her social media accounts in recent days.
On Tuesday, Step Up– a national nonprofit aimed at empowering women and supporting career readiness– amended a recent post that had included Kayda’s photo and posted a comment explaining their decision to remove Kayda’s image from their campaign.
“Step Up is committed to creating a community where women and girls feel seen, heard, and supported,” the nonprofit wrote. “We understand that the recent ‘Love Island’ Reunion brought to light moments and conversations that have understandably caused hurt and concern within our community. While this post was created before the Reunion aired, we understand that the context has changed.
“We see your comments, hear your concerns, and are taking them to heart to ensure that we can stay true to our mission– creating spaces where women feel seen, heard, and empowered,” the statement continued. “Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their perspective with us. We are listening and we will continue striving to create and maintain spaces where every woman and girl feels respected, valued, and empowered.”
For those who missed this week’s Reunion, Kayda is under fire for what some fans are calling her “mean girl” behavior towards castmate Jaiden Bacciocco regarding her now-former situationship with Caleb McDaniel.
During the Reunion, Jaiden explained that, after the show filmed, she and Caleb hooked up, which led to a messy on-and-off again relationship where she felt led on. Eventually, the pair parted ways for good, but Jaiden took the opportunity at the Reunion to confront Caleb about how she felt, and Kayda had a lot to say.
“I just want to say that hooking up is a two-person thing,” she said to Jaiden. “If [Caleb] was treating you like that then why did you f**k him again?”
Jaiden went on to tell Kayda that she had asked a “crazy question,” adding, “We’ve all been there.”
“Hooking up is a two-way thing so it’s like– you’re coming at him, but you did it too, so … ,” Kayda replied.
Host Ariana Madix jumped in to defend Jaiden, explaining, “Yeah, I do think that’s a little harsh because it does seem like he was telling her one thing and then acting otherwise.”
“It’s really not that harsh, babe,” Kayda replied, while rolling her eyes.
Fans of the show soon began taking to Step Up’s social media page to shame Kayda for her Reunion remarks, while accusing her of being a bully.
“What she said in the Reunion last night wasn’t a woman empowerment vibe,” one fan wrote. “Now that she’s in the spotlight, she should be choosing her words more carefully … .”
“Ya you need a new face of your brand,” another commented. “Kayda is giving mean girl energy.”
In the face of the Reunion backlash, Ariana took to Instagram to discourage the negative discourse online after she, too, began receiving comments from Kayda critics.
“If you ever feel the need to leave negative comments towards Islanders, log [the f**k] off and go outside,” the former ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star wrote. “Especially if you think my comment section is a safe place to do so. FYI it is NOT.”
Getting dropped from the charity campaign wasn’t the only consequence Kayda faced after the rReunion. According to Reality Shrine, Kayda lost a whopping 100,000 followers on TikTok and 33,000 on Instagram, making her the most-unfollowed Islander ever.
At this time, Kayda and her boyfriend, Zach Georgiou, have yet to comment on the recent backlash.
RELATED STORY: ‘Love Island USA’ Season 8 Reunion Reveals Two Post-Villa Breakups (Spoilers)
(Photos: Peacock; Instagram)
