Yulissa Escobar’s controversial past is coming back to haunt her, raising concerns about the show’s unimpressive vetting process. Yulissa, a 27-year-old realtor from Miami, ed the hit dating show after the end of a nine-year relationship. Her desire for love brought her to Fiji, but it didn’t get her off to the best start with her castmates. On the first night, Yulissa chose to couple with Ace Greene, despite his already being paired with Chelley Bissainthe. The move seemed disrespectful to Chelley, and it soon became apparent that was the least of Yulissa’s problems.

Midway through episode 2, Love Island's Iain Stirling announced Yulissa’s departure from the show by simply stating, “Yulissa has left the villa.” Yulissa was never mentioned again, with Ace later confirming he was once again single. Season 7 already began on a frustrating note after the premiere’s release was delayed on the Peacock streaming platform. Now, Yulissa’s abrupt exit has resulted in more questions than answers, but one thing that’s certain is that her casting never should have happened.

Yulissa’s Under Fire For Using Racial Slurs

Troubling Clips Have Resurfaced

Yulissa has been the subject of controversy since the Love Island USA season 7 cast was announced on May 29. Online sleuths quickly uncovered footage of Yulissa using a racial slur multiple times during a podcast appearance. Furious viewers vowed to vote Yulissa out of the competition as soon as possible. Due to the contestants’ seclusion while at the villa, Yulissa was likely oblivious to the backlash.

Peacock hasn’t commented on the reasons behind Yulissa’s departure, but it’s fair to assume that it was a direct result of the controversy. It’s even been speculated that the criticism towards Yulissa was the cause of the premiere’s delay. The scandal may have left the network scrambling to determine how to proceed or attempting to edit Yulissa out of existing footage. While Yulissa’s departure solves the immediate problem of her season 7 appearance, it does little to resolve concerns about how she made it to Fiji in the first place.

Producers Should Have Vetted Yulissa More Thoroughly Before Casting Her

Producers Failed Viewers And The Other Contestants

It’s shocking that Yulissa was cast on Love Island USA when it took no time at all to dig up her past transgressions. The fact that she made it through to the show reveals the blatant failures of Love Island’s vetting process. After several high-profile incidents regarding reality TV cast in recent years, viewers are more aware than ever of the importance of due diligence in casting. Producers should be making every effort to ensure contestants are in a safe environment, and in this instance, they dropped the ball.

Yulissa’s abrupt exit from the show was likely very disruptive to the remaining contestants.

Casting somebody with a history of hate speech is completely unacceptable. It’s not difficult to vet online history, as proven by the fans who dug up the footage of Yulissa. Yulissa’s abrupt exit from the show was likely very disruptive to the remaining contestants. The entire situation never should have happened.

Yulissa Isn’t The Only Controversial Love Island USA Season 7 Cast Member

Austin Also Has A Problematic History

Unfortunately, Yulissa wasn’t the only Love Island USA season 7 star whose casting has been called into question. Austin Shepard, a 26-year-old pool technician, was also found to have a questionable social media history. His since-deleted TikTok allegedly liked several racist and hateful posts. Even more disturbing is that after Yulissa stole Ace from Chelley, Chelley, who is a Black woman, was forced to pair with Austin.

Much like they had with Yulissa, viewers are flooding social media with calls for Austin to be eliminated. The controversy is detracting from the true intention of Love Island USA, which should be about finding romance, not weeding out problematic contestants. Vetting is the producers’ responsibility, and the onus shouldn’t fall on viewers to spot problems within the cast.