Controversy has struck before the cameras even start rolling, as the case of Love Island USA Vasana dominates headlines ahead of the show’s new season. According to reports, the season eight contestant has been removed from the villa just days before the premiere, following the resurfacing of videos showing her using a racial slur.

The Reported Removal

The Peacock reality dating series has not yet premiered its new season, yet one of its previously announced contestants, Vasana Montgomery, will reportedly no longer appear on the show.

According to TMZ, the 25-year-old business owner from Beaverton, Oregon, was kicked off the show just days before the season premiere. The reason, per the report, was the emergence online of videos in which she used a racial slur.

What the Videos Show

The footage that triggered her reported removal reportedly captured two separate incidents involving the same slur. According to the reports:

• One video shows Vasana rapping along to a song in which she says the n-word.
• Another clip shows her yelling the same word to a friend who is playing an arcade game.

The nature of how these videos came to light has become part of the story. Sources told Just Jared that the clips appear to be privately owned and were not shared publicly until after the cast had been announced. As a result, they were not available during the show’s vetting process, suggesting producers had no way of knowing about them when selecting the cast.

A Troubling Pattern for the Show

This is not the first time Love Island USA has faced such a situation. The parallels to the previous season are striking and difficult for the show to ignore.

During one of the first episodes of season seven last year, contestant Yulissa Escobar was announced to have left the villa. It was later revealed that she had been removed after resurfaced clips showed her using a racial slur. The repetition of nearly identical circumstances raises questions about the challenges the production faces in vetting contestants in an age when private footage can surface at any moment.

Silence From Vasana and the Show

As of now, neither Vasana nor Love Island USA has publicly addressed her status on the show. Adding to the uncertainty, her photos reportedly remain on the show’s Instagram account, leaving fans without official confirmation of her departure even as reports circulate.

This lack of comment has left the situation in a state of limbo, with the reporting outpacing any formal announcement from the parties directly involved.

A Friend Speaks Out

While the principal figures have stayed quiet, one person connected to Vasana has responded. An Instagram user who had commented on her cast photo identifying as her best friend addressed the controversy publicly.

Miriam Cintora took to their Instagram story to react to the resurfaced videos, expressing sadness and saying they hardly knew what to say. They explained that they had been trying to be a supportive friend to someone they had known for five years, adding that in all that time they had never known Vasana to be the kind of person the videos depicted. Cintora expressed a belief that people can change and grow, saying they would hold onto that belief unless proven wrong.

Cintora also pushed back against fans who had come to their account in the wake of the controversy. They argued that it was unfair to hold them accountable for someone else’s actions, stating that the behavior in the videos was neither who they are nor something they condone. At the same time, they made clear they would not tolerate comments from people who had never had a single personal experience with either of them.

The Bottom Line

The removal of Love Island USA Vasana from the season eight villa marks a troubling start for a show that experienced a remarkably similar episode just one season earlier. With videos surfacing after the vetting process, a contestant reportedly gone before the premiere, and official silence from both the show and Vasana herself, the situation underscores the difficulties reality television faces in the social media era.

As fans await an official statement and the season’s premiere approaches, the controversy serves as a reminder of how quickly resurfaced content can upend carefully planned productions. For now, the full story remains incomplete, with reports leading the way and the principal voices yet to weigh in.