Drama has struck Love Island USA once again before the camera have even begun rolling.
Contestant Vasana Montgomery has been booted off the hit show after videos of her using the N-word have resurfaced.
The uproar comes just eight days before the show was set to premiere.
The 25-year-old Beaverton, Oregon, business owner has been removed from the cast over two videos that have reappeared just days after the cast was announced.
In one, a person who appears to be Montgomery uses the n-word while singing along to a song.
In another, the person uses the term toward another person while playing a video game in an arcade.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the videos were privately owned, not public, and so were not available during the show's vetting procedures.
A promo video for the new season showed Montgomery talking about her attitudes toward dating other cultures:
"If you were to ask my friends what my type is, they’d show you the world map.”
That doesn't defuse the slur, however, and the online backlash to the videos of Montgomery has been swift.
And, of course, given the times we live in, the backlash to the backlash has been no less heated, with many suggesting the response has gone overboard.
But many vehemently disagreed that perceived intent or the fact she was singing to song lyrics negated the used of the word.
Many also expressed shocked that it seemed someone had obviously held onto the videos for the express purpose of canceling Montgomery.
But perhaps the biggest response was one of disbelief that this is now the second consecutive year that Love Island has had to fire someone over their use of racial slurs.
Last year constestant Yulissa Escobar was forced to leave the show's villa after footage of her using the N-word surfaced and she was asked to leave the show.
Contestant Cierra Ortega was asked to leave later in the season as well after using a racial slur for Asian people she claimed to not realize was offensive.
Given those controversies, many were shocked that the show didn't have better vetting procedures this year.
The show will air as scheduled beginning June 2, 2026, with Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix hosting.
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