Gone.
Photo: Ben Symons/PEACOCK via Getty Images
Love Island USA cast member Yulissa Escobar left the show on just day two, June 4, after fans dug up clips of her saying the N-word on a podcast. Her departure was announced 18 minutes into the season’s second episode. “Welcome back to Love Island USA,” narrator Iain Stirling stated. “Yulissa has left the villa.” No further details about her departure were given. Clips of Yulissa saying the N-word while on a podcast began circulating on Reddit on June 1, two days after Peacock confirmed the first ten contestants. Fans left hundreds of comments on Yulissa’s Instagram, threatening to vote her out first. Yulissa was coupled up with Ace, a 22-year-old Black TikTok livestreamer, who is now single.
But Yulissa isn’t the only contestant whose digital footprint could affect their time on the show. Many of contestant Austin Shepard’s TikTok reposts support President Trump. One refers to Oakland, California, as a “third world country,” while other posts are transphobic. Austin is currently coupled up with Chelley Bissainthe, a Black woman, leading to posts like “free chelley from Austin …. My sista doesn’t know.” Love Island USA fans will be exercising their right to vote — what’s more patriotic than that?
