‘Love Island USA’ star Nic Vansteenberghe on ex Cierra Ortega’s racial slur controversy

A new bombshell opinion has entered the villa.

“Love Island USA” star Nic Vansteenberghe is shocked and still processing Cierra Ortega’s racial slur controversy that got her removed from the villa.

“She just left, it was a completely normal day and she just left,” he recalled during Tuesday’s episode of the “Chicks In The Office” podcast.

“I was brought and told she was gone for, I think, for some sort of personal reasons, something along those lines … very vague, was never told the details of anything,” he explained, adding that he was “very strongly considering leaving” after her departure.

Vansteenberghe and Ortega had been coupled up in the villa and had even “closed things off” before she was removed.

The 24-year-old then said during the interview that he “had a talk” with himself before making a decision.

“I also told myself, ‘If whatever is happening in the outside world is something I don’t align with, then that could be perceived as me supporting that.’ I gave myself the chance to stay in the villa,” he explained.

However, after exiting the villa and finding out why Ortega was kicked out, he noted, “Coming out now, seeing what it is and whether or not those values believe in what I value, now I can kind of have a better perception on it.”

The registered nurse did clarify that he hasn’t expressed an opinion on the racial slur controversy because he is “still taking the time to process everything,” calling it “overwhelming.”

“Cierra and I did have this great connection. … I was lost and confused and I wasn’t really ready to switch as possible straight to Olandria [Carthen],” he later noted of his new connection, which took him to the finale.

It’s unclear if Vansteenberghe has spoken to Ortega since Season 7 wrapped, but he did tell “Chicks In The Office” listeners that he and Carthen are still exploring their relationship and “doing a lot of things that a boyfriend and girlfriend do” without labeling it as such.

On the July 6 episode of “Love Island USA,” narrator Iain Sterling announced that Ortega had exited the villa “for personal reasons.” Although no official explanation was given, it came on the heels of her being exposed on social media for using an Asian slur twice.

Shortly after, Ortega released an “accountability” video where she said, “I am deeply, truly, honestly so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain as much harm, and came with the history that it did or I never would have used it.”

The content creator noted that her future actions “will speak louder than any apology,” before insisting, “If you want to know that you are heard and that I’m sorry and that I will move differently, I promise you, that’s what will happen.”

She also seemed to confirm that executives removed her from the Peacock show because of the controversy, saying she agreed with their decision because she “deserved punishment.”

Ortega, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, also called out the rampant hatred she was getting on social media.

“What’s been extremely, extremely difficult is the way people approaching my family and my loved ones,” she explained. “They have had ICE called on them. My family does not feel safe in their own home. I have received death threats.”

She proclaimed that “there is no need to fight hate with hate,” echoing the sentiments in the written apology she shared on her Story.

“While I had no ill intention, I fully understand that impact matters more than intent,” Ortega wrote of the “careless mistake” she is “genuinely ashamed of.”

A few days after her initial statement, Ortega was forced to take to social media yet again to share the death threats she had been receiving from some users.

“hey so is this still about accountability or…?” she wrote on her Instagram Story earlier this year, sharing screenshots of people telling her to hurt or kill herself.