Love Island USA contestant Vasana Montgomery apologizes for using N-Word

Vasana Montgomery, the 25-year-old from Beaverton, Oregon who was cast in Season 8 of “Love Island USA” and promptly kicked out for using the n-word in social media videos, publicly apologized Wednesday.

“I want to discuss a few videos from my teenage years that have recently resurfaced,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “I used racial slurs in those videos. There is no excuse for it, and I am deeply sorry. I am ashamed and disappointed by my words. I take full responsibility for what I said and understand why it hurt and upset people. Since then, I have grown tremendously as a person and have taken the time to educate myself, listen, learn, and better understand the impact that language can have. That growth does not erase my mistake, and I am not asking anyone to apologize for it. I believe people should are held I am responsible for their actions, but I also believe in growing, learning and getting better. I am truly sorry to anyone I have hurt or disappointed.

Montgomery was included in Peacock’s “Love Island USA” Season 8 cast announcement on May 28. By May 30, she had been removed, following the distribution of two videos previously only available on private accounts. “Knock knock, n–,” she says in one, while the other shows her rapping along to lyrics that include the n-word.

Montgomery’s firing marks the second year in a row that Peacock has had to remove a contestant for using the n-word, following Yulissa Escobar in season 7. Later that season, Cierra Ortega was also fired for using racial slurs, this time against Asian people.