Vasana Montgomery, who had been announced as one of the new Love Island contestants, apologized this week after old videos surfaced showing her using a racial slur as a teenager.
Fans of the show were shocked to learn that she had been pulled from the show before the first episode aired on Peacock.
Montgomery addressed the backlash in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories.
“There is no excuse for it, and I am deeply sorry,” she wrote.
The former contestant said she understood why viewers were upset and accepted responsibility for the language she used in the clips.
“I am embarrassed and disappointed by my words,” Montgomery wrote. “I take full responsibility for what I said and understand why it has hurt and upset people.”
Montgomery said the videos came from her teen years and that she has since made an effort to educate herself.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Montgomery, a beauty technician based in Beaverton, Oregon, was cut from the show shortly after Peacock introduced the Season 8 cast. The outlet reported that one video showed her rapping along to a song and using the slur. Another clip, cited through reports from TMZ and Variety, appeared to show her using the slur while playing an arcade game.
A production source told the Times the clips appeared to have come from a private account and were not published until after the cast reveal.
Fans are questioning why show producers do not do deep background checks before signing contestants up for the show.