“Love Island USA” alum Huda Mustafa is apologizing and taking accountability for a racial slur controversy involving her former co-star Olandria Carthen.
Mustafa, 25, and her boyfriend, fellow reality personality Louis Russell, were recently livestreaming when someone called in and used the N-word to refer to Carthen.
The couple appeared taken aback, giggled and quickly ended the call.
After collecting themselves, Russell repeated, “Hey,” in a disappointed tone before Mustafa asked, “Yo, what the f–k? What did they say? They said a bad word.”
Russell, 24, agreed, adding, “They said a terrible word.”
The moment quickly went viral, prompting Mustafa to instantly take to her Instagram Story to claim she and Russell “did not hear it very well” but still “hung up immediately” after clocking “the racial slur.”
She added that the two laughed because it was “awkward and inappropriate,” arguing that “whoever said it is in the wrong.”
As for Russell, who is black, he posted his own statement on his Instagram Story in which he explained his “flustered response to a very unnerving situation.”
The “Too Hot to Handle” and “Perfect Match” alum called the caller’s behavior “harmful and dangerous,” adding that he and his girlfriend “are both very proud of the way [they’ve] used [their] platform to be a voice for those who are often under-represented, especially on TV.”
Carthen, 27 responded to the situation on her Instagram Story as well, telling her followers that “that kind of language is never acceptable. Not in anger, not as a joke, not ever,” as “words like that carry generations of pain.”
She went on to ask for “real accountability and awareness” before encouraging “those who have participated in the stream and their followers to demonstrate a genuine commitment to anti-racism by donating to organizations and foundations dedicated to educating and uplifting this community.”
Mustafa returned to her Instagram Story the following day to say she had taken the time to “reflect and collect [her] thoughts” so she could “more fully take accountability for [her] actions.”
Acknowledging the “gravity” of the word in question, Mustafa apologized directly to Carthen for her “immediate reaction,” which “came from being caught off guard, not from finding the word or situation funny.”
She insisted that it was “a nervous, uncomfortable” response but admitted that it was “inappropriate” nonetheless.
Mustafa concluded her message by pledging to make “a personal donation to the NAACP.”
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