Copyright Slate
Just when we thought we were done with the drama of this past summer’s hottest reality TV show—Season 7 of Love Island USA, that is—the beast has reared its ugly head once more. A lot happened in this hit season of the Peacock reality dating show, which is probably why it became so big that it almost single-handedly put all conversations about our dying monoculture to bed. But part of the secret behind the season’s success was because of how messy it was, even for reality TV standards. The on- and off-screen drama became so heated that some viewers accused the producers of mishandling the season by kowtowing to the whims of online fans whose response to this season ranged from strong to downright hateful. Much of the unsavory online response had to do with one cast member in particular: Huda Mustafa, a single mom whose eyebrow-raising antics while in the Love Island USA villa won her both rabid supporters and harsh critics. The tension surrounding the contestant was never fully resolved, leaving us with a newly minted celebrity who seemed to avoid taking responsibility for her actions, and a fan base that was prepared to go to bat for her over the smallest perceived slight. Thus brings us to this moment: We may have one of the ugliest controversies yet from this cursed season, and how it came about is completely unsurprising. At the risk of resurfacing all the hot-button issues that this season inadvertently touched on—from political correctness and racism to toxic relationships—allow me to offer a refresher on just how we got here. Love Island USA, like its U.K. source material, was always meant to be a lighthearted summer indulgence following young, hot singles who have to date one another in an isolated tropical villa. This season, though, had a rocky start and middle when the producers dumped two cast members from the show after fans found previous instances in which they had used racial slurs. From there, things only got messier, as producers changed almost everything about the show’s usual structure (R.I.P. to Movie Night, a beloved hallmark of the show) and did not remove Mustafa—who was accused of emotionally terrorizing many in the house, including the two Black men she courted—from the show. During the postseason reunion, filmed about a month after the conclusion of the show, two of Mustafa’s Black female castmates, Olandria Carthen and Chelley Bissainthe, chided Mustafa for neglecting to stand up for them against her online fans, who were making and sending racist posts and messages regarding the Black women on the show. Mustafa deflected by saying she experienced racial hate (Mustafa is of Middle Eastern descent) as well and “was dealing with so much.” While she semi-apologized during the reunion, she still did not do what Carthen and Bissainthe had asked, which was to post a request for her fans to stop sending racist harassment on her behalf. Things appeared to settle down after the reunion, with the cast members staying busy with new business opportunities. But now, Mustafa has come under fire for a more blatant instance of racial insensitivity. Following the season’s conclusion, Mustafa and many other cast members were not pictured socializing, and Mustafa started dating Louis Russell, a Brit who has been on several reality dating shows, including Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle. Earlier this week, the pair were on a livestream, during which they received a prank call in which a young girl’s voice can clearly be heard calling Carthen the N-word. In response, the two burst into laughter, and Mustafa said, “What did they say?” and, “They said a bad word.” The moment went viral, and Love Island fans and castmates alike spoke out against Mustafa and Russell’s insensitive reaction to the obviously racist remark. Shortly after the stream, Mustafa posted to her Instagram stories slamming people for using “a sensitive topic” for “click bait.” She claimed that she and Russell didn’t hear what was said, and then hung up on the call immediately. She added that she doesn’t “condone racism” and that she and Russell laughed because “it was AWKWARD,” claiming that she only heard the slur and not that the caller was using it to refer to Carthen. Then, Carthen released a statement to her Instagram Stories stating that she condemns “racism of any kind,” and that “that kind of language is never acceptable,” neither “in anger” or “as a joke.” She noted that she anticipated “this will result in surface level apologies that fade in a few days,” and therefore suggested that people put their support for her into “something actionable,” and encouraged everyone to donate to organizations that have a “commitment to anti-racism.” Nicolas Vansteenberghe, Carthen’s partner on the show and current romantic partner, supported her on his Snapchat, and castmate Bissainthe also posted a statement of support, calling the moment “disappointing to say the least” and asserting that “racism isn’t a prank, it’s not entertainment.” As the controversy continued to grow, Mustafa issued a second statement to her Instagram Stories after taking “the majority of the day to reflect.” She wrote that it’s “extremely disheartening that anyone” would “find it excusable to use this type of language.” Mustafa apologized for her “immediate reaction,” which she said “came from being caught off guard,” not because she found the situation “funny,” but because she was “nervous and uncomfortable.” The statement ended with the reality star vowing to make a donation to the NAACP and listing other organizations to donate to. Meanwhile, Russell, who had initially responded to the controversy in a fairly blasé way, took to his own Instagram Stories to post a follow-up stating that using that language “completely goes against everything we stand for,” and that, “as a Black man,” he has “greater empathy” through his “own lived experiences battling racism.” He continued that “this was an extremely unfortunate situation. One that in no way reflects my values. Nor Huda’s,” adding that they are “both very proud” of how they’ve used their platforms “to be a voice” for those “under-represented, especially on TV.” Regardless of whether or not Mustafa and Russell really didn’t hear that the prank caller’s racial slur was directed at Carthen, this ugly episode just highlights, as much of this season has, the racism that continues to be leveled at Black women in the public eye. Mustafa was an emotional wreck on Love Island USA, one who was even called “Hurricane Huda” by her castmates because of how much her volatile outbursts steamrolled all the other contestants. When she had arguments with Carthen and Bissainthe, who otherwise remained fairly stoic and level-headed on the show, even while providing Mustafa with friendship and advice, Mustafa’s quick tears immediately resulted in the two Black women being hit with barrages of racist online harassment from fans who believed Mustafa’s accusations of bullying, all because Carthen and Bissainthe had expressed their own emotions and hurt on national television. That tendency to weaponize her tears against her Black female friends on the show, coupled with Mustafa’s courting of and subsequent emotional manipulation and verbal abuse of two Black men in the villa, has made this latest, ugly controversy only too predictable. It’s no surprise that a castmate who couldn’t even meaningfully apologize for refusing to issue a statement asking her fans to stop being racist to her friends would then think that it’s OK to laugh at the so-called “awkward” nature of someone saying a hurtful racial slur. Who could’ve seen this coming? Anyone who watched this season of Love Island USA, I’m afraid.
