Fellow axed Love Island USA cast member who also used racial slur defends Cierra
'Try to educate us'
An axed Love Island USA star is taking to social media to “dive into” everything that’s gone on during season seven so far. Yulissa Escobar just shared a new TikTok where she broke down her thoughts on the latest drama in the villa. The reality TV star was removed from the villa just days into season seven. Her time on Love Island USA came to an end when a video of her using a racial slur surfaced on the internet. Now, she’s defending another cast member who was removed for the same reason, a week before the final.
Yulissa and Cierra were removed from the villa
“Cierra has left the villa, due to a personal situation”
Girl we know the damn situation— bre ౨ৎ 🐇 🐾 (@shortnbre) July 7, 2025
After just a few days of being on Love Island USA season seven, Yulissa was removed from the villa by production.
A clip from her past, which saw her using a racial slur, resurfaced, and her time on the reality TV show came to a swift end.
Yulissa wasn’t the first Islander to be removed from the show for a controversial social media post. A week before the show’s final, Cierra Ortega was also axed for the same reason.
A since-deleted Instagram post that saw Cierra using a racial slur, allegedly published in 2023, did the rounds recently.
After people caught wind, Love Island USA said Cierra left for “personal reasons.”
Since then, her parents have spoken out about the racial slur controversy. And, now, Yulissa is also breaking her silence about Cierra’s exit.
Now she’s defending Cierra on TikTok?!
@yulissaaescobar You can hold people accountable without destroying them. Sorry if I’m rambling.. #LoveIslandUSA #yulissa #lovergirl #LoveIsland #yulissaescobar #cierra #huda #austin #chelly #olandria
After Cierra was revealed to have used a racial slur in a since-deleted Instagram Story, some other Islanders, like Belle-A Walker, said they’re no longer associating with her.
But Yulissa is taking to TikTok to say quite the opposite.
She said: “I’ve taken a second to reflect and really dive into everything… this isn’t only about me, this isn’t only about Cierra…
“It’s so hard for me to say this, because I’m not justifying what I did. I know what I did was wrong, and I know what I said was wrong. And, I know what Cierra said was wrong. And, I know it hurt communities.”
Speaking of Cierra, she added: “All I ask for Cierra is… we need to stop fighting hate with hate. The cyber-bullying has gone to a whole other level. All I ask you guys is to give this girl a chance to take it all in and let her take accountability.”
The former reality TV star urged people to stop sending “disgusting messages” to Cierra. Drawing on her personal experience, Yulissa explained how when she was removed from the villa, and “in a hotel room in Fiji,” she was “scared to go home” after seeing the messages she was getting online.
Yulissa added how her family had concerns when she was suddenly removed from the show: “It was a lot to take in… My mom flew into Texas because she was worried about me.”
“Instead of threatening her [Cierra] and her family, try to educate us. Try to educate people so that we can grow as a community because we need to stick together,” she continued.
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