It has not taken long for Season 7 of Love Island USA to spiral into controversy. In just the second episode, fans were hit with the shocking onscreen message: ¡°Yulissa has left the villa.¡± No context, no warning¡ªjust a vanishing act that sparked instant speculation online.
Turns out, the abrupt exit of Miami-based contestant Yulissa Escobar came right after a resurfaced video exposed her using the N-word in past podcast appearances. The clip, published by TMZ just one day before the episode aired, sent social media into meltdown. By the time the second episode hit Peacock, Yulissa was officially gone.
Fans were not quiet about their feelings. Even before the episode aired, the comment section under Yulissa¡¯s official cast photo had already turned into a digital battleground. Viewers were calling for her to be eliminated, with messages like, ¡°We¡¯re sending you home the FIRST vote¡± flooding the post. Her Instagram eventually limited the comments¡ªbut the damage had been done.
A Peacock spokesperson confirmed that ¡°Yulissa left the villa,¡± but offered no explanation. While Entertainment Weekly reached out to Escobar¡¯s reps, there has been no public statement from her team as of now. The show moved on quickly, but the fans? Not so much.
Before the scandal, Yulissa was introduced as the fun, confident 27-year-old mobile bar owner looking for her ¡°knight in shining armour.¡± Fresh off a nine-year relationship, she claimed she was stronger and happier than ever. ¡°I am like a bundle of joy that came out of nowhere,¡± she said in her promo video. But that joyful energy quickly evaporated with the controversy now surrounding her name.
From Twitter threads to TikTok and Instagram, the internet has been ablaze. Some are praising Peacock for acting swiftly, while others are questioning why proper vetting did not catch the clips earlier. Either way, Love Island has officially entered its drama era¡ªand it is only week one.