Love Island USA Removes Vasana Montgomery After Racist Slur Controversy

For the second year in a row, “Love Island USA” has removed a cast member after old social media posts surfaced showing the use of the n-word. Vasana Montgomery will not appear in the upcoming season of the Peacock reality dating series, which premieres on June 2. Her exit comes just two days after the Season 8 cast was announced, echoing a similar controversy from last year, when Yulissa Escobar was removed during the second episode after videos emerged of her using the same slur. Later in the season, Cierra Ortega also left the show after using a racist term for Asian people and saying she had not realized it was offensive.

Montgomery, 25, is from Beaverton, Oregon, and is shown using the n-word in two separate videos circulating online. In one clip, she says “Knock knock, n—-” while playing what appears to be a shooting game at an arcade. In another, she appears in a car rapping along to a song containing the word. The videos were reportedly originally posted to private accounts and only became public after the cast announcement, suggesting they may not have been visible during Peacock’s vetting process.

In Peacock’s cast teaser, Montgomery described herself as “the full package,” saying she owns a business, lives alone and has a dog. She also said her type is broad, telling viewers that her friends would show them “the world map.” The show’s new season will release daily during premiere week, then continue with episodes every day except Wednesdays. Ariana Madix hosts the series, Iain Stirling narrates, and executive producers include 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. ITV America produces the series in association with Lifted Entertainment and Motion Entertainment.