Love Island USA’s Cierra Ortega has apologised for old social media posts including a derogatory term for Asian people, following her sudden removal from the hit TV show.

In a video message, the 25-year-old content creator from Los Angeles said the post in question that led to her departure was made in 2024 and that a follower messaged her to explain that it was a slur.

“In that moment, I was embarrassed,” she said, adding that she “immediately deleted the post”.

Ortega, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, said she and her loved ones have been harassed online over the posts, including by people calling immigration authorities on members of her family and issuing death threats.

“What’s been extremely, extremely difficult is the way people are approaching my family and my loved ones,” she said. “They have had ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] called on them. My family doesn’t feel safe in their own home. I’m receiving death threats.

“There’s no need to fight hate with hate. I don’t think that that’s justice.”

Ortega said she was in agreement with the network’s decision to remove her from the show and said she understands why viewers were upset.

But she took issue with social media posts claiming that she did not delete the derogatory post or doubled down on using it.

“I was apologetic and I educated, not only myself on the true meaning and history of the word, but also anyone around me.

“I think the backlash has obviously been very hard to deal with.”

Ortega’s departure from the show, a spinoff of the popular UK reality series, follows that of fellow islander Yulissa Escobar, who left after videos of her using a racial slur on a podcast in 2021 re-emerged.

Ms Escobar later apologised, saying on Instagram she used the offensive term “ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history, or pain behind it”.

She followed up her apology with a second post, saying she had received death threats and that she “came back to a warzone” after leaving the villa.

This season of Love Island USA has been wildly popular and Peacock, NBC’s streaming app that airs the show, said the series was ranking as the most streamed reality series.

But its skyrocketing success has led to contestants being relentlessly cyberbullied on social media, so much so that the show aired a statement during a recent episode with a plea for viewers to halt the harassment.

We’re coming to the end of the second day of Amazon Prime Day, which runs through Friday, July 11 — making it a four-day sales event for the first time ever. On the second day of the sale, we’re seeing some noteworthy deals on laptops, including aggressive price cuts on the latest MacBooks, Chromebooks, and Windows PCs from Lenovo, Dell, HP, and more.

Get daily deals straight to your inbox during Prime Day when you sign up for ZDNET Recommends, your one-stop newsletter for the sale.

Also: The best Prime Day deals we’ve found

We’ve gone hands-on with dozens of the best laptops of this year, and only highlight sales on laptops we’ve tested and can personally vouch for. That means significant discounts, solid value relative to price, good portability, and respectable performance. Read on to explore some of the best laptop deals Amazon (and competing retailers) have to offer. As the event continues, we will be continuously updating this page with the best deals, flash sales, and online discounts we can find live.

Best Prime Day laptop deals

• Apple iPad 11th Gen: $279 (save $70): This isn’t a laptop, but the base model iPad can be a functional and portable laptop alternative, and it’s on sale for its best price yet. 
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• Apple MacBook Air M3: $1,819 (save $225): After the M4’s release, prices are dropping on the 2023 M3 MacBook Pro, and we couldn’t be happier. The 18GB version is a competitive machine that’s ready to support the new macOS 26 coming to all Mac devices this fall.
• Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro (15-inch): $600 (save $300): Samsung’s Book4 Pro has a gorgeous touchscreen display, top-tier hardware, and a massive trackpad for a distinctly comfortable user experience. When I went hands-on with it, I praised its smart integrations.
• Acer Swift Go 14: $799 (save $208): Acer’s Swift Go 14 brings a budget-friendly package to respectable hardware: Intel Core Ultra 7, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. This makes it a solid backup laptop for business travel, but I’d also highly recommend it to students. 
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• Acer Aspire Go 15: $250 (save $50): A laptop I would recommend for study purposes is the Acer Aspire Go. This model comes with a 15.6-inch FHD display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD storage — plenty for basic educational tasks.
• ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025): $1,275 (save $225): If you’re on the hunt for a gaming laptop, there’s a fair discount available on a 16-inch laptop with Nvidia GeForce RTX Graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. 
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• Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station: $340 (save $60): Transfer massive files quickly-move a 150GB file in just 25 seconds with the Thunderbolt 5 port.

Best Prime Day MacBook deals 

• Apple MacBook Air M4 (15-inch): $1,049 (save $150): The 15-inch MacBook Air M4 is one of the friendliest, all-around performing laptops we’ve tested all year. Even better is the fact that Apple is offering competitive pricing, even on its newest laptops. 
• Apple MacBook Pro M3 (18GB): $1,819 (save $225): Apple’s M3 MacBook Pro from 2023 is seeing some steep discounts now that the M4 has been released. The 18GB version is a competitive machine that’s ready to support the new macOS 26 coming to all Mac devices this fall.
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• Apple 2024 MacBook Pro: $3,596 (save $406): Powered by an M4 Max processor, this model is pricey, but it comes with power that will last you for years to come, as well as 1TB of storage, 48GB of RAM, and a 16.2-inch display.
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• Apple Magic Keyboard: $119 (save $10): This keyboard comes with a numeric keypad and can wirelessly connect to your Mac, iPad, or iPhone via Bluetooth. 
• Apple Mac Mini M4 256GB: $500 (save $100): Though not a laptop, our expert recommends the M4 Mac Mini to both creatives and business professionals. It’s $100 off thanks to an extra on-page coupon. 

Best Prime Day Windows laptop deals 

• Microsoft Surface Pro (13-inch): $870 (save $330): The 13-inch Surface Pro with the Snapdragon X Plus processor is a supremely portable, high-performing tablet/laptop hybrid with a brilliant OLED display. 
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• HP 14 Laptop (14-inch): $178 (save $50): This laptop’s thin and light design makes it ultra-portable, and its sizable and nearly bezel-less screen makes it perfect for entertainment. 
• MSI 15.6-inch gaming laptop: $719 (save $280): You can take advantage of a $280 discount on a decent mid-range gaming laptop with an i5 processor and 16GB of RAM.
• Acer Nitro V gaming laptop: $650 (save $150): The Nitro V doesn’t have the highest specs on the market, but as ZDNET’s Charlie Osborne found, it’s great for gaming and use as a lab. During Amazon’s event, you can save $150 off the typical RRP.
• Dell’s Inspiron 5440: $579 (save $170): The Inspiron lineup consists of reliable, jack-of-all-trades laptops, and this 14-inch with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor is no exception. Right now it’s 23% off for the 16GB version.
• Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro: $1,650 (save $350): This laptop comes built in with Windows 11 Pro and has all the best Galaxy AI features. 
• ASUS Vivobook Go: $220 (save $110): An affordable laptop we’ve found is a great fit for students. The ASUS Vivobook Go has a 15.6-inch display and runs on Windows 11 Home. 
• HP 14-inch student laptop: $275 (save $225): Another laptop suitable for students and containing good specifications for the price — including Copilot AI and 16GB of RAM — is this laptop. It’s in lavender, though, and so might not suit everyone color-wise. 

Best Prime Day Chromebook deals

• Asus Chromebook CM14: $163 (save $116): It doesn’t get more affordable than Asus’ 14-inch CM14 Chromebook. It comes with 64GB of local storage and 4GB of RAM to handle daily tasks like checking email and browsing the web.
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More laptop deals from Best Buy, Walmart, and other retailers

• Asus Zenbook S 15: $534 (save $265): Asus’ Zenbook S 15 was one of the first Copilot+ PCs to come out last year, and it’s drastically marked down at Walmart right now for just $534. It’s got a vivid 120Hz OLED display, Intel Core Ultra 7 chip and 16GB of RAM, making it a solid all-around laptop with a lightweight form.
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Cierra Ortega has addressed her exit from Love Island USA after a social media post resurfaced where she used a racist slur.

The former Islander was removed from the villa after using a word that demeans the Asian community. After flying back to the U.S., Ortega took to Instagram to take accountability for her past mistakes.

“Now that I’ve been back in the U.S. for about 48 hours and I’ve had the chance to process [everything], I now feel like I’m at a space where I can speak about this without being highly emotional, because I am not the victim in this situation,” Ortega started off saying in the Instagram video.

“While I was in the villa, there were some posts that resurfaced from my past where I was very naively using an incredibly offensive and derogatory term,” she continued. “I want to first start by addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community. 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.

Ortega noted that although she “had no ill intention” when she used the word, “That’s absolutely no excuse because intent doesn’t excuse ignorance. It just doesn’t and I just need you to know that I am sorry.”

The former contestant of the Peacock dating series was removed from the villa on the episode that streamed on Sunday, with narrator Iain Stirling simply stating that she left “due to a personal situation.”

RELATED: Ariana Madix Makes Call To ‘Love Island USA’ Fans To Not Be “Atrocious” To Islanders On Social Media: “Don’t Do That”

In the video she posted online, Ortega says that it’s “not an apology video,” adding, “This is an accountability video. I do want to hold my hands up and say that I take accountability for using the word, but I do want it to be known that I genuinely had no idea that it was a slur. I had no idea of its meaning.”

She further explained that after she made her post public in 2024, someone reached out to her to educate her on the meaning of the word and its history. Ortega said that she “immediately deleted the post” and “was apologetic” for having used the term and learned her lesson.

RELATED: ‘Love Island USA’ Narrator Iain Stirling Sets U.S. Dates For Live Stand-Up Comedy Show

“I think since that moment, I’ve done so much growing as an individual, and I’ve tried my best to educate others who might be accidentally holding space for these types of words that could be offensive in their vocabulary,” she said. “I completely agree with the network’s decision to remove me from the villa. I think that this is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment has absolutely been received, for sure.”

RELATED: All Of Ariana Madix’s Outfits As Host Of ‘Love Island USA’ Season 7

Although Ortega agrees with the punishment she received, she finds it “extremely difficult” that her family is receiving death threats and having ICE called on them, saying, “My family doesn’t feel safe in their own home. I’m receiving death threats like it’s there’s no need to fight hate with hate. I don’t think that’s justice.”

Ortega asked Love Island USA fans to allow her “to grow with grace” from this experience and promised “to take strides to be better.”

Watch the full video below.