Love Island Australia powerhouse Tina Provis has chucked in her two cents on the heated controversy surrounding Love Island USA‘s Cierra Ortega and her alleged use of an anti-Asian slur in resurfaced social media posts, which sparked outrage on social media.
While Love Island Australia has yet to kick off, Love Island USA has kept fans on the edge of their seats with its explosive reality TV drama. Although the on-screen kerfuffles are gagworthy, the off-screen scandals have been quite dark, with two contestants being evicted after their old social media posts allegedly containing racial slurs went viral.
To give you a quick recap, 25-year-old content creator Cierra Ortega exited the villa in episode 30, with narrator Iain Stirling announcing she left “due to personal reasons”. While the real reason has yet to be confirmed, many speculate it was due to the scandal surrounding her old social media posts in which she used an anti-Asian slur, which caused outrage amongst the Love Island fan base.
Love Island superstar Tina Provis — who has previously spoken out about her experience in the villa as an Asian woman and her battles with internalised racism — unpacked the impact of Cierra’s use of the anti-Asian slur, and her personal experience being surrounded by folks who would throw these microaggressions around.
“Growing up, I was constantly reminded of my difference as something undesirable,” Tina told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I remember in high school taking pictures with my friends, and how there was always one person in the group that would declare, ‘That’s a bad one of me, I look so Asian!’. By 18 years old, I’d ring my eyes with dark eyeshadow and big false lashes to try hide my eyelids and mask my Asian qualities. So yes, racial slurs do have a real impact.”
Tina admitted she was “not shocked” to see that a portion of the fanbase defended Cierra when she was officially evicted, but agreed that the Love Island USA producers made the right choice in removing her from the competition.
“The online conversation around Ceirra being removed from the Love Island USA villa makes it clear that taking her off the show was the right call,” Tina continued.
“I’m not shocked to see that a lot of people online are defending her, because the slur that she used is ‘not as bad’ as other racial slurs. There are hundreds of comments of people claiming that they didn’t even know it was a derogatory comment, which just goes to show how Anti-Asian racism is downplayed and tolerated much more than it would be in other communities.”
Reflecting on her personal experience on Love Island Australia — in which she won, because duh, she’s an icon — Tina revealed that she confronted a co-star after commenting on her eyes. However, instead of apologising, the islander defended himself, claiming his Asian friends wouldn’t have been offended by the joke.
“During my time on Love Island Australia, I faced racist comments in the villa,” Tina claimed.
“I remember one conversation, the group was talking about ‘drunk eyes’ when drinking alcohol. One cast member looked right at me and said that I ‘would get the worst drunk eyes’ because of my race. When I pulled him up on it, he defended the comment and said that he had heaps of Asian friends who wouldn’t have taken offence.
“In another conversation, another cast member was describing the appearances of his two friends, one was Asian and the other was ‘normal’.
“On both occasions, I let these people know that what they had said was racist. I was hurt, but sadly used to these comments and had expected to come up against it at some point in my Love Island journey. Production pulled me aside to check that I was okay and let me know that the other cast member had been spoken to separately about their comments.”
Furthermore, Tina highlighted the pressure reality TV has on society, especially when it comes to influencing how we view ourselves and other people and cultures, and how detrimental these microaggressions can be.
“When there is already a lot of pressure to look like the people on our TV screens and social media, it is incredibly derogatory to reference features of an ethnic group as undesirable or unattractive. You can tell me to brush it off, you can tell me that I’m being sensitive,” Tina said.
“From my own experience and the conversations I’ve had with so many young girls that follow the show, I know that representation has a real impact in empowering young POCs to feel proud of their culture and identity. Like the power of a positive message, unfortunately, racial slurs hold just as much impact, especially when the audience is young, impressionable and battling their own insecurities.
“When you put people on TV, whether you like it or not, they become a role model for someone on the other side of the screen.
“Seeing diversity on our screens is powerful, but the industry should also be encouraging inclusive spaces. And while it’s not the role of production to educate its cast on what’s right and what’s wrong, if introducing diversity training can save someone hurt in the long run, it’s worth it.”
Calls for Love Island to do better background checks
With two Love Island USA contestants being kicked off — Yulissa Escobar in episode two, and Cierra in episode 30 — many fans are calling for Love Island producers to do better vetting on their contestants.
Tina revealed that both the Australian version and the USA version, which she worked with on Love Island Games, did an online audit. She also adds that the US production team actually had contestants complete “a diversity and inclusion course via a Zoom call” before they headed into the villa.
“We were given example scenarios of microaggressions, identifying inappropriate language and behaviours, as well as reflecting on our own upbringing and perspectives. I thought this session was great, as I had never gone through anything like this in my previous reality TV experience. If they aren’t already now doing this, I hope Australia follows the US’ lead,” she revealed.
Furthermore, Tina commended Love Island USA‘s decision to axe Cierra, but also believes that they should acknowledge the scandal publicly.
“In a franchise that already sees very limited Asian representation, what has gone down on Love Island USA matters,” she said.
“I would love to see the network acknowledge it publicly to show that they are genuinely taking a stand beyond purely managing a controversy hanging over the show.
“If I had seen a slur on social media like this when I was 14 years old, it would have reinforced one of my biggest insecurities. I know I’m not alone and I know there are a lot of people in the Asian community who would understand and relate to this hurt.”
As a Filipina Australian following reality TV shows across the globe, having these conversations and holding people to account for making these ignorant comments are extremely important.
Personally, I 100 per cent agree with everything Tina has to say. Yes, they did the right thing, but they must stand on business and condemn these microaggressions point blank, period.
At the time of writing, Cierra nor Love Island USA have issued a statement addressing the controversy. However, her parents did take to her Instagram shortly after her abrupt elimination, calling for “empathy” as Cierra re-enters society.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Channel Nine for comment.
