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Alannah Keyser, 21, is now the second contestant to be removed from the current season of Love Island USA for using a racial slur in a resurfaced video online.
The removal comes less than a week after the college student, who hails from Miami, entered as a bombshell during the Casa Amor episodes in the Peacock reality dating series.
Shortly after she arrived at the villa on June 21, a selfie-style Snapchat video resurfaced that appeared to show Keyser singing along to a song containing the the N-word. The song appears to be rapper Roddy Ricch’s 2019 track The Box.
In what has now become a familiar approach for the show, Love Island USA narrator Iain Stirling acknowledged her abrupt departure following a commercial break during Thursday night’s episode, saying simply, “Alannah has left Casa Amor.”
After her first appearance on Season 8, during which she appeared to make a connection with contestant Zach Georgiou, fans noticed that her screen time began to dwindle. Some users on Reddit noted that she had been largely edited out of Tuesday’s episode.
Keyser’s case is not unique to this season — or even the franchise as whole.
Shortly after Peacock unveiled the Season 8 cast on May 28, clips of Vasana Montgomery using a racial slur resurfaced. Montgomery was axed from the show before it ever premiered on TV.
Love Island USA Season 7 has pulled in a huge audience, but beyond the villa, contestants and their families have faced a wave of hate online, prompting a warning from the production to stop the cyberbullying.
Last year, a pair of Season 7 islanders were also removed from the cast in separate incidents.
Days after the season premiered, viewers were informed that Yulissa Escobar had been removed due to resurfaced clips of her using racial slurs on a podcast.
Escobar later issued an apology in Instagram, “owning [her] mistakes and speaking [her] truth.”
“In those clips, I used a word I never should have used: a racial slur,” she wrote in part. “I used it ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history or pain behind it. I wasn’t trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn’t excuse impact.”
Mere weeks later, Cierra Ortega was also removed from the show due to similar clips shared online.
She took to TikTok with her apology.
“I completely agree with the network’s decision to remove me from the villa. I think that this is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment is absolutely been received, for sure.” she said.
CBC News reached out to Keyser for comment, but did not hear back before publication.
