Love Island USA‘s Austin Is Being Exposed For His Questionable Posts After Yulissa Was Kicked Off For Saying the N-Word
Jason Pham
Love Island USA Season 7 has only just begun, and two islanders are already being exposed for their internet histories. Austin Shephard, a 26-year-old from Northville, Michigan, and Yulissa Escobar, a 27-year-old from Miami, Florida, are two of 10 original islanders on Love Island USA Season 7.
Soon after their casting announcement, an X user shared a screenshot of Austin’s alleged TikTok likes, which included several pro-Donald Trump posts and anti-Kamala Harris videos. “Black man destroys black woman who said she’s voting for Kamala ‘because she’s a black woman,'” read one alleged TikTok video Austin liked. Austin has since deleted his TikTok profile, which was under the handle @scottdisickstan12.
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“He will be first I vote off my vote will matter this time !” a TikTok user commented on a video of fans exposing Austin’s likes. “Well now I know who I’m voting off,” another fan wrote. “Dang. One bad apple spoils the bunch. We voting him out soon as possible,” one more user commented.
Fans also discovered that Yulissa was also a Trump supporter based on a previous TikTok video she posted. “I’m here looking at my followers and I lost about 600 followers just because I’m a Trump supporter. Everyone is entitled to their own fucking opinion,” Yulissa said in the video. Fans also reposted a photo she shared of her in a “Make America Great Again” hat.
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“If Yulissa and Austin couple up from the start, I just know imma bruise a rib from laughing so hard,” a user commented on a TikTok video about Austin and Yulissa.
Many fans, however, argued that Austin and Yulissa’s political affiliations were irrelevant given that Love Island USA is a dating show. “Hear me out LOVE ISLAND ISNT A DEMOCRAT SHOW!! ITS A DATING SHOW LIKE WTH IS WRONG WITH YALL! YALL MAKE EVERYTHING AND I MEAN EVERYTHING ABOUT POLITICS! YALL ACTING LIKE YALL RUN EVERY SHOW AND IF THEY LIKE SOMETHING YALL DONT YALL WANT THEM GONE. ITS SO WILD HOW YALL THINK AND ACT,” a user wrote on TikTok.
Another user commented, “Like this is a DATING show, not some liberal game show?? Js..” One more user wrote, “So like we can’t have an opinion… It works both sides babe.”
Along with their political affiliations, Yulissa was also exposed for using the N-word in a past podcast interview. “You fuck my n—? Perfect. But now I’m fucking my n—. He’s my n—,” Yulissa said in the interview, which has been reposted on TikTok.
“did the casting producers even try??? like her and austin…,” a user commented on a TikTok repost of the interview. “Baby her and Austin don’t even need to unpack😭 but at the same time I want them to get to the tweet challenge,” another user wrote. One more user commented, “So we’re voting her FIRST then Austin. Not only do we got a list but also superiority.”
After her interview went viral, Yulissa was removed from Love Island USA in Season 7, Episode 2. “Welcome back to Love Island USA. Yulissa has left the villa,” narrator Iain Stirling said 18 minutes into the episode. At the time, of her exit, Yulissa was coupled up with Ace Greene, a 22-year-old from Los Angeles, California.
While Yulissa hasn’t commented about her Love Island USA exit, at the time of writing, she did disable comments on her Instagram after the video of her saying the N-word went viral. The last post Yulissa’s family shared on her Instagram before her exit from Love Island USA was a photo of her and her Love Island USA cast mates—Chelley Bissainthe, Olandria Carthen, Belle-A Walker, and Huda Mustafa—which they captioned with: “you @yulissaescobar and this fit” with a fire emoji and a flaming heart emoji.
The drama around Yulissa also came after Love Island USA producers, Jasmine Crestwell and Alex Rinks, sued NBCUniversal, which owns Peacock, and ITV Studios for race and gender discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Crestwell and Rinks claimed in legal documents obtained by Radar Online that new producers hired to boost Love Island USA‘s ratings had a history of racism and abusive practices. “The villa was also unsanitary. Islanders generally were restricted to specific portable toilets connected to their rooms. These toilets were rarely cleaned and often broken and unusable. Showers in the villa’s bathrooms were clogged and overflowing,” the suit read.
The two also claimed that contestants were deprived food and sleep to create drama. “Producers further intentionally scheduled testimonial filming during food service, meaning Islanders were often pulled away from eating to film their testimonial segments; when they returned, food service was over,” the complaint read.
In regards to the racism claims, Crestwell reported that she complained about the alleged mistreatment of several islander, including Season 4 contestant Sereniti Springs, one of the “few women of color on the show.”
She alleged that other producers called Springs a “bitch,” “dumb,” “and disgusting” while “repeatedly interrupting or obstructing her ability to forge connections with male cast members, thus sabotaging her chances on the show.”
The suit continued, “Ms. Crestwell observed that the UK show’s pattern of mistreatment towards contestants of color continued into Season 4. From the first day of filming, Bush took steps to prevent Islander Sereniti Springs, a Black woman, from making connections with male cast members. Bush instructed all Producers on an internal walkie system, ‘don’t let Sereniti talk to any men.’ that night, Bush sent a list of ‘couples’ who had spoken on Day 1 to inform the following day’s production choices: Ms. Springs was the only Islander not on the list.”
Crestwell also claimed that other producers “openly commented on video feeds of female Islanders showering and having sex, creating a deeply uncomfortable work environment for women on set.”
The suit continued, “The entire villa was equipped with cameras and Islanders were filmed 24 hours a day, even while showering, and producers had access to a video feed. While producers were instructed not to watch this footage, certain producers disregarded this instruction and not only watched this intimate footage but discussed it openly on set, including by making disparaging comments about female contestants’ bodies.”
The suit added, “For instance, one Producer watched streams of nude female contestants and directed a female Producer to “look at her tits,” commenting that a contestant’s “boob job” made her “boobs look[] too hard.”
The suit continued, “Executive producers also pressured female islanders to engage in sexual relationships without regard for their personal preferences or genuine consent.”
Love Island USA streams on Peacock.
