A Love Island USA cast member was fired from the reality dating show just days before the eighth season premiered following footage resurfaced in which the contestant used a racial slur.
Vasana Montgomery, of Beaverton, Oregon, will no longer appear in the series, Deadline can confirm. A spokesperson for Peacock notes that the footage of the incident, in which Montgomery, 25, used the N-word, appears to be private and was not shared publicly until after his announcement, and therefore could not have been seen before his dismissal.
This marks the second year in a row that the popular American original UK format has had to drop a contestant for making racist comments. In June 2025, Yulissa Escobar left the city the day after the Season 7 premiere amid flashbacks of a clip where she uttered the N word repeatedly. Her exit was addressed in a clear statement during the second episode of the dating competition series last year. (Escobar issued an apology after his departure, but has taken to social media to downplay the severity of his actions.)
A month later there was an unpleasant moment of déjà vu as fellow Season 7 islander Cierra Ortega was also removed from the series after using an offensive slur against Asians. Narrator Iain Stirling spoke at the time in episode 30, saying that Ortega left “because of his situation.” Days later, Ortega also issued a statement; however, the contestant stopped short of calling it an “apology video.” He said: “This is a self-defense video. I want to raise my hands and say that I am responsible for using this word, but I want it to be known that I really did not know that it was an insult. I did not know the meaning of it.”
A few days ago, the Love Island USA The Instagram page posted a PSA urging viewers to “stay kind, stay positive” as the cast prepares to make their debut on the show hosted by Ariana Madix.
The first islanders (now excluding Montgomery) set to enter the villa are: Aniya Harvey (Tyrone, Georgia), Beatriz Hatz (San Diego, California), Bryce Dettloff (Los Angeles, California), Gabriel Vasconcelos (Miami, Florida), KC Chandler (Fresno, California), Kenzie Annis (Kennesaw, Georgia), Melanie Moreno (Los Angeles, California), Sean Reifel (Easton, Pennsylvania), Honest Rhea (Cape May, New Jersey), Trinity Tatum (Newport News, Virginia) and Zach Georgiou (Birmingham, England).
Love Island USA is produced by ITV America, in association with Lifted Entertainment and Motion Entertainment, a WPP Media Company and distributed by ITV Studios. David George, Adam Sher, Jordana Hochman, Bernie Schaeffer, Ben Thursby-Palmer, James Barker, Blake Garrett, Courtney Rosenthal, Sophie Brown, Richard Cowles, Mike Spencer, Tom Gould, Ali Hill and Martin Oxley executive produce the series.
Season 8, which follows the record-breaking Season 7, premieres June 2 at 9 pm ET and 6 pm PT, with new episodes airing every day during the first week except Wednesdays thereafter.
