Peacock has not clarified why Ortega left the show, but her exit occurred amid online controversy over posts she allegedly made that included a derogatory term for Chinese people.

Ortega was kicked out of the villa ahead of the Sunday, July 6, episode of “Love Island USA” after screenshots surfaced of her using a slur for Asian people in 2024. In a video shared to Instagram on Wednesday, July 8, Ortega apologized to the “entire Asian community” for using the offensive term.