Cierra Ortega exit row: Love Island host Ariana Madix responds to racism allegations; show producers react

Cierra Ortega officially left the Love Island USA villa following a racism controversy

Updated on: Jul 7, 2025, 08:01:51 IST

By Yash Nitish Bajaj

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Cierra Ortega officially left the Love Island USA villa following a racism controversy. This comes as the 25-year-old's old social media posts surfaced with fans slamming her and demanding her removal for using an anti-Asian slur. On Sunday's episode, the show's narrator Iain Stirling that ‘Cierra had left due to a personal reason’. He did not get into specifics.

Ariana Madix had reacted strongly to the Cierra Ortega racism row (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Love Island host Ariana Madix had also reacted to the row after a viewer accused her of ‘staying silent’ on the matter. The Vanderpump Rules star wrote on social media: “Not silent. You don’t know what your talking about.” However, this was before Ortega's exit from the villa.

The US Sun had previously quoted a production source saying: “Cierra is in deep trouble, that is for sure. This kind of word is unacceptable. It was a huge disappointment when we saw it. Everyone is very, very bothered and pissed about that. We will hold a meeting to decide what we should do… but it doesn’t look great at all for Cierra as a lot of us want to take her out of the show as soon as possible."

They also cited Yulissa Escobar’s exit. The Miami-based creator was removed for using the N-word.

“We kicked Yulissa out of the show at the beginning of the season because of racial slurs too. This kind of behavior and use of this kind of word is unacceptable, and we condemn all kinds of racism, discrimination and insults towards anyone," The US Sun further quoted the source.

Cierra Ortega racism row

An Instagram Story allegedly from Cierra's account resurfaced this week. It read: “Botox isn’t for everyone but I love it for me!!!

“I am incredibly expressive with my face and I catch myself frowning for no reason throughout the day when I’m focusing on something or thinking too hard lol. I can also be a little ch**ky when I laugh/smile so I love getting a mini brow lift to open up my eyes and get that snatched look. This is not me encouraging but more so sharing.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yash Nitish Bajaj
Yash Bajaj is a Chief Content Producer with a strong foundation in US coverage, digital strategy, and audience-focused storytelling. As part of the US Desk at Hindustan Times, he covers a wide range of topics - from American politics to sports (NFL, NBA, derbies, MLB and more). Before joining Hindustan Times, Yash served as Deputy News Editor at Times Now, where he oversaw international coverage and led a team of six. In this role, he significantly expanded global traffic through strategic planning, SEO-driven content execution, and meticulous trend tracking across platforms. He is experienced in managing high-pressure breaking-news shifts, coordinating live coverage, and building newsroom systems that improve speed, accuracy, and reach. Prior to Times Now, Yash held a position at Opoyi, where he headed the Sports and US news team. He developed broad editorial strategies, guided reporters across multiple beats, and played a key role in recruiting and training new talent. His responsibilities also extended to social media management and experimenting with innovative content formats. A passionate NFL fan, Yash is a die-hard supporter of the Cincinnati Bengals and has followed Joe Burrow closely since his college days at LSU. Whether breaking down top players' latest performance, analyzing team performances, or tracking roster moves, he brings the same dedication and sharp storytelling to his sports coverage as he does to American politics and breaking news. When he’s not writing, Yash can often be found watching games or debating the latest NFL storylines with fellow fans. Yash holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) from HR College, Mumbai University. His interests extend well beyond the newsroom: he is an enthusiastic explorer of AI tools, a movie buff with an ever-growing watchlist, and someone who enjoys unraveling conspiracy theories for fun.Read More

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