Jeremiah Brown is addressing Cierra Ortega’s sudden exit from Love Island USA.
After narrator Iain Stirling announced that Cierra—who was coupled up with Nic Vansteenberghe—left the show due to a “personal situation” during the July 6 episode of the Peacock series, Jeremiah shared his thoughts on the alleged social media posts that resurfaced of her used a racial slur for Asian people.
“I don’t condone no type of racial slurs,” the 25-year-old said on TikTok Live July 7. “That racial stuff is weird to me. I have been dealing with that my whole life. Racial stuff is never cool.”
He later uploaded several videos of him reuniting with fellow dumped Islanders Austin Shepard, Charlie Georgiou, Hannah Fields and Belle-A Walker, the latter of whom has also shared her perspective on Cierra’s controversy.
"As a proud Asian American woman, I’m deeply appreciative of the Love Island USA producers for taking a stand and making it clear that racism of any kind is not tolerated," Belle-A wrote on her Instagram Stories July 6. "When I first saw what my fellow Islander said on their social media pages, I was incredibly heartbroken.”
“But I wanted to wait until they left the villa and were able to address the situation, genuinely apologize, and commit to learning from the experience,” she continued, “before deciding how our relationship would look moving forward."
The 22-year-old, who was the first Islander dumped from the villa during the June 8 episode, went on to explain why her mentality on the situation shifted.
"As screenshots continued to surface, it became clear that I could no longer support this person, and made the decision to unfollow them a couple of days ago," she explained. "Asian hate is oftentimes overlooked and dismissed. But being a first-generation American, I have personally witnessed and experienced how real and hurtful comments like these are."
And while Cierra, 25, has yet to publicly address the controversy, her parents, who at the time noted their daughter was still in Fiji, shared a message encouraging people to treat their daughter with compassion amid “one of the most painful weeks” of their lives.
“We're not here to justify or ignore what's surfaced,” they wrote in a message shared to Cierra’s Instagram Story July 6. “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,” they continued. “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.”
For more on the cast of Love Island USA season seven, keep reading.
Bryan Arenales
Boston, Massachusetts
Elan Bibas
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Courtney "CoCo" Watson
Los Angeles, California
Clarke Carraway
Columbia, South Carolina
Chris Seeley
Fresno, California
Zak Srakaew
Roi Et, Thailand
Zac Woodworth
Portland, Utah
JD Dodard
Dallas, Texas
Jaden Duggar
Los Angeles, California
Gracyn Blackmore
Bristol, Virginia
Savanna "Vanna" Einerson
Salt Lake City, Utah
Andreina Santos
Thomas John "TJ" Palma
Pleasantville, New York
Belle-A Walker
Honolulu, Hawaii
Austin Shepard
Northville, Michigan
Ace Greene
Los Angeles, California
Chelley Bissainthe
Orlando, Florida
Huda Mustafa
Raleigh, North Carolina
Nicolas Vansteenberghe
Jacksonville, Florida
Jeremiah Brown
Los Angeles, California
Olandria Carthen
Decatur, Alabama
Yulissa Escobar
Miami, Florida
Taylor Williams
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Cierra Ortega
Phoenix, Arizona
Charlie Georgiou
Birmingham, United Kingdom