A Love Island USA cast member has been dismissed from the reality dating show just days ahead of its eighth season premiere following resurfaced videos in which the contestant used a racial slur.
Vasana Montgomery, of Beaverton, Oregon, will no longer feature on the series, Deadline can confirm. A Peacock spokesperson notes that videos of the incident, in which the 25-year-old Montgomery uses the N-word, appear to be privately owned and were not shared publicly until following her announcement, and as such were inaccessible to vet prior to her ousting.
This marks the second year in a row that the popular American format of the U.K. original has had to let go of a contestant for racist comments. In June 2025, Yulissa Escobar left the villa a day following the Season 7 premiere amid backlash for a clip in which she uttered the N-word repeatedly. Her exit was addressed with a plain statement halfway through the second episode of the dating competition series last year. (Escobar issued an apology after her departure, but has since gone on social media downplaying the severity of her actions.)
A month afterward featured an unfortunate déjà vu moment as fellow Season 7 islander Cierra Ortega was likewise removed from the series after using an offensive racial slur against Asians. Narrator Iain Stirling addressed the moment in Episode 30, saying Ortega had left “due to a personal situation.” Days afterward, Ortega also released a statement; however, the erstwhile contestant stopped short of calling it an “apology video.” She said: “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.”
Just a few days ago, the Love Island USA Instagram page posted a PSA urging viewers to “keep it kind, keep it positive” as the cast prepares its debut on the Ariana Madix-hosted spinoff.
The first islanders (now excluding Montgomery) set to enter the villa are: Aniya Harvey (Tyrone, Georgia), Beatriz Hatz (San Diego, California), Bryce Dettloff (Los Angeles, California), Gabriel Vasconcelos (Miami, Florida), KC Chandler (Fresno, California), Kenzie Annis (Kennesaw, Georgia), Melanie Moreno (Los Angeles, California), Sean Reifel (Easton, Pennsylvania), Sincere Rhea (Cape May, New Jersey), Trinity Tatum (Newport News, Virginia) and Zach Georgiou (Birmingham, England).
Love Island USA is produced by ITV America, in association with Lifted Entertainment and Motion Entertainment, a WPP Media Company and distributed by ITV Studios. David George, Adam Sher, Jordana Hochman, Bernie Schaeffer, Ben Thursby-Palmer, James Barker, Blake Garrett, Courtney Rosenthal, Sophie Brown, Richard Cowles, Mike Spencer, Tom Gould, Ali Hill and Martin Oxley executive produce the series.
Season 8, which will follow up a record-breaking Season 7, premieres June 2 at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT, with new episodes dropping daily during premiere week except for Wednesdays thereafter.
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