A contestant on the new season of “Love Island USA” has been removed from the show after videos surfaced online showing her using a racial slur against Black people, just days before the season’s premiere. Peacock, which streams the reality dating series, confirmed on Sunday that Vasana Montgomery had been dismissed. The network did not offer further details about the casting change.
Montgomery, 25, had been introduced on Thursday as part of the new cast for the show’s eighth season. By Friday, two videos began circulating on social media that appeared to show her using the slur. In one clip, she is seen singing along to a rap song that includes the word. In another, she appears to use the word while at a video arcade. A person familiar with production, speaking anonymously about internal matters, said the videos were privately owned and had not been made public until after the cast announcement.
It was not immediately clear whether filming for the new season had already started at the luxury villa in Fiji. “Love Island USA” is filmed in real time, with episodes airing roughly two days after they are shot. The upcoming season is set to premiere on Tuesday.
The removal adds to a pattern of controversy surrounding the franchise, which has become one of Peacock’s most watched shows and a major topic of online conversation. The series follows a group of contestants who live together in a villa, pair up romantically, and face elimination if they fail to secure a match. Cameras record nearly every moment, while viewers help decide who stays on the island. The winning couple receives $100,000.
The show’s popularity has grown sharply in recent years. Its seventh season, which aired last summer, generated more than 18.4 billion minutes of streaming time on Peacock, according to the network.
Montgomery is not the first contestant to be removed from “Love Island USA” over the use of racist language. Last year, Yulissa Escobar was dropped from Season 7 after recordings surfaced of her repeatedly using a racial slur against Black people during a podcast interview. Escobar appeared in the premiere episode before her dismissal was announced in the second episode. She later apologized, saying she had used the slur “ignorantly,” without understanding its history or impact.
Another Season 7 contestant, Cierra Ortega, was also removed about a month later after being accused of using a racial slur against Chinese people.
The latest dismissal comes as the new season prepares to launch with a fresh group of contestants, intense viewer scrutiny, and renewed attention to the franchise’s casting decisions.
