'Love Island USA' Removes Alannah Keyser After Racial Slur Video Surfaces
Peacock has confirmed that Love Island USA Season 8 contestant Alannah Keyser will not appear on the show beyond episode 20, following the circulation of a video appearing to show her using a racial slur.
Keyser, a 21-year-old film student at the University of Southern California originally from Miami, was introduced during the June 21 episode as one of the new Casa Amor bombshells. Within days, a video began circulating online that appeared to show her singing along to Roddy Ricch's 2019 song "The Box," which contains the N-word in its lyrics. Screenshots of an Instagram comment and a Snap message in which she uses the same slur also spread widely on social media.
How Peacock Responded
Peacock confirmed to multiple outlets Thursday that Keyser would not appear in episodes after episode 20. Her exit was briefly addressed on-air, with narrator Iain Stirling announcing, "Alannah has left Casa Amor." In the episode leading up to her removal, she appeared in only two brief, non-speaking scenes. According to a production source cited by The U.S. Sun, editors had already been working to reduce her presence in pre-taped episodes once the video surfaced.
Peacock said it was not aware of Keyser's social media posts prior to casting, noting the content had not been shared publicly before her appearance on the show and would not have been accessible during the standard vetting process.
Keyser has not publicly commented on the controversy. Her father told TMZ she is not racist and described her as an "educated sweetheart."
The Second Removal This Season
Keyser is the second Love Island USA Season 8 cast member removed over a racial slur. Before the season's June 2 premiere, Vasana Montgomery was dropped from the show after videos surfaced of her using the N-word. Montgomery never appeared on air. Production adjusted by moving forward with a smaller initial cast, which affected the placement of other islanders, including Gabriel Vasconcelos, who was later reintroduced as a bombshell rather than an original cast member.
Montgomery subsequently posted a public apology on Instagram, writing that there was no excuse for her words and that she was embarrassed and disappointed by them.
A Recurring Problem for the Franchise
The removals mark the third and fourth time Love Island USA has cut a contestant for this reason in two seasons. During Season 7, Yulissa Escobar was removed during the second episode after clips of her using the N-word resurfaced online. Later that same season, Cierra Ortega exited after resurfaced posts showed her using a racist slur targeting Asian people. Ortega later posted a TikTok video saying she agreed with the network's decision and acknowledged the removal as warranted.
The pattern has drawn attention to the show's pre-casting vetting process, though Peacock has noted that content posted to private accounts presents a particular challenge to standard screening procedures.
Love Island USA Season 8 is hosted by Ariana Madix and narrated by Iain Stirling. New episodes drop daily on Peacock, except Wednesdays. ITV America produces in association with Lifted Entertainment and Motion Entertainment.
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