Peacock has removed Alannah Keyser from “Love Island USA” Season 8 after resurfaced social media material appeared to show the Casa Amor contestant using a racial slur, making her the second Islander this season to be cut over similar allegations and putting new pressure on the show’s screening process.
Keyser, a 21-year-old USC film student from Miami, entered the villa during the Casa Amor twist in the June 21 episode and quickly became part of a storyline with Zach Georgiou. Peacock confirmed to multiple outlets that she would no longer appear after episode 20, with Entertainment Weekly reporting that producers pulled her from the villa before Thursday night’s episode aired.
The backlash began after a video circulated online that reportedly showed a woman appearing to be Keyser singing along to Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” and using the N-word. Screenshots allegedly showing similar language in past social media comments also spread. A person familiar with production told the Los Angeles Times that the material became public only after Keyser’s first episode, while TMZ reported that production sources said the posts were not accessible during vetting.
Keyser has not publicly addressed the controversy. Her father, Stephane Keyser, rejected claims that his daughter is racist, telling TMZ, according to Complex, “There’s no world in which Alannah is a racist.” A friend, Nick Rogers, also defended her in a TikTok video cited by Entertainment Weekly, saying he could not tell whether she used the slur in the video while adding that non-Black people should not use the word.
The exit follows another Season 8 removal. Vasana Montgomery was dropped from the cast before the premiere after videos surfaced that appeared to show her using the N-word. Montgomery later apologized on Instagram, saying, “There is no excuse for it, and I am deeply sorry.” The franchise faced similar controversies last year, when Yulissa Escobar left after podcast clips resurfaced and Cierra Ortega departed after past posts containing an anti-Asian slur drew criticism.
The scrutiny arrives during a high-profile season for Peacock. NBCUniversal said Season 8 generated 824 million minutes viewed in its first three days, up 74 percent from Season 7, and became Peacock’s most-streamed original season debut through that opening window.
