On the Wednesday, June 4 episode of Love Island USA Season 7 (aka the second episode of the entire season), narrator Iain Stirling casually (and quickly) told viewers, “Welcome back to Love Island USA. Yulissa has left the villa.” The show didn’t delve any deeper into why Yulissa left the show — in fact, it never came up again during the episode. So why did Yulissa leave Love Island USA after just one episode? There was some drama happening online that might point fans toward the answer.
On May 29, Peacock announced the Love Island USA Season 7 cast, including contestant Yulissa Escobar from Miami, Florida. Once the cast list dropped, fans were quick to protest Yulissa’s involvement because of two separate resurfaced podcast videos in which Yulissa uses the N-word. In both videos, Yulissa uses the word in conversations about dating and being in a romantic relationship. Her Campus reached out to Peacock and Yulissa’s teams for comment on the resurfaced videos as well as the reason behind Yulissa’s exit from the show, but didn’t hear back by the time of publication.
Before Love Island USA premiered on June 4, fans who found the resurfaced videos said they would be voting her out of the villa immediately. One user on Instagram commented on the LIUSA Instagram account, saying, “Yall keep posting her like it’s gonna change our mind about voting her out.” Another said, “America this is your chance to finally getting the voting right.”
Since the announcement of Yulissa’s departure, fans have taken to the Instagram comments section again. One user wrote, “Smiling so much for someone leaving after a day🙏🏼.” Another said, “Love Island stood on business and I love that👏😭.”
Considering the cast doesn’t have access to their phones while filming, it’s possible Yulissa didn’t find out about the drama online until she was let go from the show. Yulissa has yet to publicly address the resurfaced videos or her departure from the villa.
Others also pointed to the possibility that Yulissa was let go from the show because of her support of President Donald Trump (though that seems much less likely). Her support of Trump is something Yulissa addressed herself before the show began. In a video on social media, she said, “I lost about 600 followers just because I’m a Trump supporter. Everyone is entitled to their own f*cking opinion. So why don’t you build a bridge and get over it. We don’t hate you because you’re a f*cking Kamala fan. Do we agree with you? No.”
It’s possible fans will learn more about why Yulissa left Love Island USA Season 7 once the June 5 episode of the show airs. Regardless, Yulissa’s departure means it’s time for a new bombshell to enter the villa — here’s hoping this one has a much better track record.