Austin Shepard is not entertaining baseless accusations.
After returning home from his stint on Love Island USA season seven, the reality star responded to a fan accusing him of being a “racist bigot” during a Q&A on his Instagram Stories.
“I’m going to give this attention only one time because this is crazy,” Austin said in a July 4 video, “Are you f–king dumb? Honestly, are you dumb? Do you not think?”
In fact, the 26-year-old went on to claim that one of his tattoos was proof that the accusations weren’t true.
“I have a Black woman tatted on my side,” he continued, showing the camera his ink. “Use your head.”
And while Austin was only recently dumped from the villa alongside Andreina Santos, TJ Palma, Gracyn Blackmore and Jaden Duggar, his fellow OG islander Yulissa Escober was removed after just two episodes on the Peacock reality series after receiving online backlash for using the N-word in resurfaced podcast appearances.
“First, I want to apologize for using a word I had no right in using,” she wrote on Instagram two days after her episodes aired. “In those clips, I used a word I never should’ve used, a racial slur. I used it ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history, or pain behind it. I wasn’t trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn’t excuse impact.”
“I’ve changed a lot since then, not just in how I speak, but in how I show up, how I carry myself, and how I honor the experiences of others,” she continued. “Growth means recognizing when you were wrong, even if it’s uncomfortable, and choosing to move forward with humility and accountability.”
And while viewers speculated that she was quietly removed from the villa while the other islanders were asleep, the 27-year-old has since set the record straight around exactly what happened.
“Plot twist: I wasn’t dragged out in the dark,” she captioned a July 3 TikTok video. “I walked out in broad daylight head high, lashes on.”
Adding that she felt she was just “getting comfortable and just coming out of my shell,” Yulissa recalled in the video that her day started out just like any other—with her costar Ace Greene making her breakfast.
“I can’t tell you the time because we don’t have access to the real world,” she explained. “I had gotten called to the front and then I met one of the producers and they asked me to take my mic off.”
“I honestly got scared,” she added. “I thought something happened with a family member or something. They didn’t really tell me anything. They just said that a video resurfaced on the internet and it’s not looking too good. I didn’t really know what video or what I was saying or what I did.”
To learn more about the islanders looking for love on season seven of Love Island USA, keep reading.
(E! News and Peacock are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Bryan Arenales
Boston, Massachusetts
Elan Bibas
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Courtney “CoCo” Watson
Los Angeles, California
Clarke Carraway
Columbia, South Carolina
Chris Seeley
Fresno, California
Zak Srakaew
Roi Et, Thailand
Zac Woodworth
Portland, Utah
JD Dodard
Dallas, Texas
Jaden Duggar
Los Angeles, California
Gracyn Blackmore
Bristol, Virginia
Savanna “Vanna” Einerson
Salt Lake City, Utah
Andreina Santos
Thomas John “TJ” Palma
Pleasantville, New York
Belle-A Walker
Honolulu, Hawaii
Austin Shepard
Northville, Michigan
Ace Greene
Los Angeles, California
Chelley Bissainthe
Orlando, Florida
Huda Mustafa
Raleigh, North Carolina
Nicolas Vansteenberghe
Jacksonville, Florida
Jeremiah Brown
Los Angeles, California
Olandria Carthen
Decatur, Alabama
Yulissa Escobar
Miami, Florida
Taylor Williams
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Cierra Ortega
Phoenix, Arizona
Charlie Georgiou
Birmingham, United Kingdom
