‘Love Island USA’ boots Season 8 contestant after alleged use of racial slur circulates online

Nbcwashington · May 31, 2026 · 700 words · By Angela Yang; NBC News

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What to know about ‘Love Island USA’ boots Season 8 contestant after alleged use of racial slur circulates online

A “Love Island USA” cast member has once again been booted from the villa.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A “Love Island USA” cast member has once again been booted from the villa.

Why it matters

This time, it happened before the newest season even premiered.

Common ground

As soon as the reality dating show unveiled its Season 8 cast on Thursday, online fans began digging into the contestants’ backgrounds.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: ‘Love Island USA’ boots Season 8 contestant after alleged use of racial slur circulates online?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Peacock confirmed to NBC News that Montgomery will no longer be on the show?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/love-island-usa-b…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “Peacock confirmed to NBC News that Montgomery will no longer be on the show.”

CORROBORATED

The NBC News report explicitly states that Peacock removed Vasana Montgomery, and the context of the reporting indicates confirmation from the streaming service to the news outlet.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Watch TV shows and movies online with Peacock. Stream iconic shows and movies, exclusive Peacock Originals, live news and sports and more.
https://www.peacocktv.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Stream new movies, hit shows, exclusive Originals, live sports, WWE, news, and more. Watch Peacock for a large collection of iconic & critically-acclaimed horror, family, or comedy shows & movies for …
https://www.peacocktv.com/stream/tv

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web search NEUTRAL — Find content from Peacock and the NBCUniversal family of networks on NBC.com!
https://www.nbc.com/networks/peacock

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Claim 2: “The streaming service said the videos that resurfaced were not publicly shared until after the cast announcement.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web sources report that Peacock stated the videos were not publicly shared until after the cast announcement provided her a public platform.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The eighth season of the American version of the television reality program Love Island premiered on June 2, 2026. The season is hosted by Ariana Madix.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Island_(American_TV_serie…

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web search NEUTRAL — After old videos surfaced on social media, Peacock removed Vasana Montgomery from the villa just days before the highly anticipated season is set to air.The streaming service said the videos that resu…
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/entertainment/entertainment-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Just mere days after Peacock announced the new cast, islander Vasana Montgomery was handed the pink slip from the reality dating show.It wasn't until the official cast announcement gave Montgomery a m…
https://www.thetvcave.com/post/love-island-season-8-vasana-m…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 3: “By Friday, just days before the season was slated to air, Montgomery had been removed from the cast.”

CORROBORATED

NBC News and other web sources confirm Vasana Montgomery was removed from the cast just days before the season premiere due to the resurfaced videos.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 4, 2026 ... Vasana was announced as part of the cast of season 8 but was removed ahead of the premiere when videos resurfaced showing her using the N-word.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZLMhz_k4VX/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... After "Love Island USA's" Season 8 premiere, viewers quickly noticed one missing cast member — and began asking what happened to Vasana ...
https://www.app.com/story/news/2026/06/03/vasana-montgomery-…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 4: “As soon as the reality dating show unveiled its Season 8 cast on Thursday, online fans began digging into the contestants’ backgrounds.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the Season 8 cast was unveiled on a Thursday and that fans immediately began investigating contestants' backgrounds.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Love Island is an American dating reality show based on the British series of the same name. As of July 5, 2024, 248 episodes of Love Island have aired. In February 2022, the series was picked up for …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Love_Island_(American_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The first season of the American version of the television reality program Love Island began airing on July 9, 2019, and concluded on August 7, 2019. The 22-episode series was broadcast on CBS in the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Island_(American_TV_serie…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The third season of the American version of the television reality program Love Island premiered on CBS in the United States and CTV in Canada on July 7, 2021. Arielle Vandenberg returned to host the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Island_(American_TV_serie…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 5: “contestant Cierra Ortega... was similarly pulled from the villa after viewers resurfaced old social media posts that showed her use of an anti-Chinese slur.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the claim regarding Cierra Ortega.

info

Claim 6: “the cyberbullying grew so severe last season that Peacock issued a public statement to fans before Season 8’s cast reveal.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim contains only general landing pages for Peacock and does not mention a public statement regarding cyberbullying before Season 8.

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web search NEUTRAL — Find content from Peacock and the NBCUniversal family of networks on NBC.com!
https://www.nbc.com/networks/peacock

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Watch TV shows and movies online with Peacock. Stream iconic shows and movies, exclusive Peacock Originals, live news and sports and more.
https://www.peacocktv.com/

travel_explore

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Claim 7: “Two videos soon began circulating on social media showing a contestant, Vasana Montgomery, appearing to say the N-word on camera — once while singing a song and another time while yelling at an arcade game.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including NBC News and other web results, report that videos surfaced of Vasana Montgomery appearing to use the N-word, leading to her removal.

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web search NEUTRAL — Bing Video helps you discover and watch videos from multiple sources including YouTube, Vimeo, and more, with instant previews, direct playback, and smart filters.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search/

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web search NEUTRAL — Watch videos instantly on Bing—enjoy direct playback, discover related clips, and dive into trending content all in one place.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=video&a…

+ 1 more evidence source

verified

Claim 8: “Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Cross-references and multiple web sources explicitly state that Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal.

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web search NEUTRAL — Executive summary Comcast NBCUniversal’s primary, directly owned streaming service is Peacock, positioned as the company’s premium ad-supported video-on
https://factually.co/fact-checks/business/comcast-nbcunivers…

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web search NEUTRAL — Main Content. Peacock. NBC.com. NBC Quick Links.
https://www.nbc.com/networks/peacock

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web search NEUTRAL — At that time, NBC Universal owned both the original airing and Peacock. Currently, the full series is not available to stream on any major subscription service.Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, which …
https://www.primetimer.com/features/peacock-removes-keeping-…

+ 1 more evidence source

help

Claim 9: “At the beginning of Season 7, contestant Yulissa Escobar was abruptly removed from the series after video clips surfaced online that appeared to show her using the N-word while on a podcast.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the claim regarding Yulissa Escobar.

info

Claim 10: “Last year, Season 7 became Peacock’s most-watched original season of all time, with more than 18 billion minutes viewed.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general definitions of 'love' and does not contain any data regarding Love Island USA Season 7 viewership or minutes viewed.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — People can express love towards things other than humans; this can range from expressing a strong liking of something, such as "I love popcorn" or that something is essential to one's identity, such a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

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web search NEUTRAL — Love is a mix of feelings and actions that shows a deep liking for someone or something. Love involves caring for another. Romantic love can lead to things such as dating and marriage , but a person c…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

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web search NEUTRAL — May 26, 2026 · Love involves emotions and behaviors characterized by passion, intimacy, and commitment. Learn what love is and how to tell when you're in it.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-love-2795343

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.