Inside the protocol for when a Love Island USA contestant is suddenly removed
Two stars were axed without warning this season
One minute they’re sunbathing, flirting, and fighting for their place in the villa and the next, they’ve mysteriously vanished. When an Islander is removed from Love Island USA, it’s rarely explained in full, leaving people confused and speculating. “Personal reasons,” just doesn’t cut it for hardcore stans. But behind the scenes, there’s a strict protocol producers follow when someone breaks the rules, has a medical emergency, or gets caught up in off-screen controversy. From how it’s handled with the cast to what the public is told (or not told), here’s what really happens when an Islander is unexpectedly taken out of the villa.
Love Island USA season seven’s removals
With no access to the outside world, the Love Island USA season seven stars immersed themselves in life in the villa.
But, pretty early on, drama quickly followed some of the cast members as controversial social media content resurfaced.
During season seven, Yulissa Escobar was removed just days into her experience because of a clip circulating the internet that saw her using a racial slur.
A week before the finale, Cierra Ortega was also removed after a since-deleted Instagram Story post was uncovered that saw her using a racial slur, too.
After the controversy, Cierra’s parents spoke out, and then on July 9, she addressed the drama herself.
A rundown of the Love Island USA protocol
@yulissaaescobar You can hold people accountable without destroying them. Sorry if I’m rambling.. #LoveIslandUSA #yulissa #lovergirl #LoveIsland #yulissaescobar #cierra #huda #austin #chelly #olandria
When Yulissa was removed from season seven, narrator Iain Stirling simply said: “Yulissa has left the villa.” And when Cierra was axed, he said she vanished for “personal reasons.”
Naturally, people watching the show aren’t just wondering what actually happens in the moment the Islanders are removed, but they’re also curious what the other Islanders get told.
Zak lifted the lid on his experience following his exit from Love Island season seven and detailed what happened when Cierra left.
Yulissa detailed her removal in a TikTok this July, and said she wasn’t “dragged out of bed” or anything dramatic.
She explained she was ask by producers to remove her microphone: “I had gotten called to the front and then I met one of the producers and they asked me to take my mic off…
“I figured something serious was kind of happening,” Yulissa continued.
She added how she was only told the basic details by production: “They didn’t really tell me anything. They just said that a video resurfaced on the internet, and it’s not looking too good. I didn’t really know what video or what I was saying or what I did.”
The reason for Yulissa’s removal wasn’t revealed to her until she left Fiji, per her TikTok.
The other Islanders are told the basics
In an interview with Speedy Mormon, Jeremiah Brown, who was in the villa when Yulissa was axed, said they were told she was removed for “personal reasons.”
He later found out the reason for her removal once he was eliminated and got his phone back. He said the Islanders “woke up and she wasn’t there,” and that there weren’t any “goodbyes.”
Zak Srakaew said that the Islanders were told a little more information when Cierra was removed.
He said in a live that they were told: “Unfortunately, Cierra has broken some of the policies and our guidelines, and she will no longer be here in the villa. That is the only information we can give you guys,” and that she’d said something offensive.
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