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Ciera Ortega has broken her silence.
On July 6, Love Island USA narrator Iain Stirling told viewers that Ortega had left the reality show due to a “personal situation,” thereby leaving fellow contestant Nic Vansteenberghe single.
The 25-year-old’s unexpected departure came after multiple racist social media posts that she allegedly made resurfaced — at least two of which contained words/terms/phrases offensive to Chinese people.
How does Ortega feel about everything that transpired?
Three days after her exit from the villa, Ortego sat down for a video and also issued a written statement on Instagram about the scandal and its aftermath.
“I want to first start by addressing, not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community,” she began.
“I am deeply, truly, honestly, so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain as much harm, and came with the history that it did, or I 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.”
This mea culpa came in the wake of old post made by Ortego that recently went viral.
In it, the content creator references her eyes, using a racial slur at the time that has been used to denigrate the Asian community.
The first example of this slur took place in 2015; Ortega appeared to use it again in February 2023 to describe her smile while getting Botox.
Since this reference was made public, Cierra has lost hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
“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,” Ortega said on Wednesday before noting that after making a public Instagram Story in 2024, a follower corrected her and informed her of the derogatory and “incredibly hurtful” language.
“In that moment, I was embarrassed,” she continued.
“I, of course, immediately deleted the post. I was apologetic, and I educated not only myself on the true meaning and history of the word, but also anyone around me who was accidentally holding space for this slur.”
To be clear, despite her reasoning and what some might view as her excuses, Cierra said she supports the decision to remove her from Love Island USA.
“I completely agree with the network’s decision to remove me from the villa,” she said.
“This is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment has absolutely been received, for sure. I think the backlash has obviously been very hard to deal with, but I understand that people are kind of confused on why I would have even said it.”
In regard to the extreme backlash that she’s faced?
Ortega said it has been “very hard to deal with,” but she does “understand where the hate is coming from.”
The reality star added that she’s been trying to “drown out the noise,” but she has received death threats.
“There’s no need to fight hate with hate,” she said. “I don’t think that’s justice. And 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.”
Seriously, people. Let’s do away with ALL death threats.
The Ortega controversy and quasi firing took place few weeks after Yulissa Escobar also departed the same Peacock reality show after we learned she had said the N-word during two separate podcast appearances.
Previously, Ortega’s family released a statement on her Instagram story after her abrupt exit. It read as follows:
We’ve seen the posts, the headlines, the hurt and the hate. And while Cierra hasn’t seen any of it yet, we have.
And so have the people who love her. 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.
