Social media users are calling for Vasana Montgomery’s removal from Love Island USA season 8 after resurfaced videos from years ago showed her using a racial slur. The backlash landed just days before the new season was set to premiere, putting Peacock and the show’s producers under immediate pressure to respond.
The posts that reignited the controversy showed Montgomery in a car and under neon lights, appearing to sing or mouth lyrics while the slur was used in the audio. One post circulated with the message “VASANA GOTTA GO!” and the demand spread quickly as viewers prepared for Tuesday’s debut.
That timing is why the search term vasana love island has surged now: Love Island USA season 8 was scheduled to debut exclusively on Peacock on Tuesday, June 2, with new episodes planned daily at 6 p.m. PT and 9 p.m. ET during premiere week. After that, episodes were to run daily except for Wednesday, and viewers were set to vote for favorite couples through the Love Island USA app.
The reaction has also been filtered through memory of an earlier contestant controversy involving Yulissa, with some commenters arguing the show should have caught the videos before the cast was announced. One wrote, “Please @loveislandusa, Do Better Background Checks. How did they know about these videos popping up after the cast was announced? Did they not go undercover in those cities and talk to everyone they ever interacted with?” Another asked, “Why weren’t these videos dug up before the contestants were even announced?”
For now, the most notable silence belongs to Peacock and the producers, who had not issued an official statement as the backlash grew. That leaves the franchise heading into premiere week with a contestant controversy already in place and the first episode still set to arrive on Tuesday night, unless the show decides to act before then.
Love Island USA is a joint production by ITV America, Lifted Entertainment, Motion Entertainment and WPP Media Company, and is distributed by ITV Studios. But on the eve of the premiere, the question is not the mechanics of the show — it is whether Montgomery remains in the cast when viewers start watching.
