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Love Island USA's Huda Mustafa issued an apology to costar Olandria Carthen after receiving backlash for her reaction to a caller aiming a racial slur at the latter on Louis Russell's live stream.
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Huda Mustafa is taking accountability.
After the Love Island USA alum laughed at a racial slur aimed at fellow season seven contestant Olandria Carthen during boyfriend Louis Russell's Oct. 27 livestream, she issued an apology for the incident.
"I want to begin by saying I completely respect Olandria and it's extremely disheartening that anyone," Huda wrote in her Oct. 29 Instagram Stories, "especially a presumed child, would find it excusable to use this type of language, and doing so only underlines the ignorance of the gravity that such a word carries."
Huda went on to share an apology directed at Olandria—who came in second place on the dating competition with Nic Vansteenberghe—in which she asserted that she didn't know the comment was aimed at her former costar.
"I apologize for my immediate reaction," she shared. "My reaction in that moment came from being caught off guard, not from finding the word or situation funny. It was a nervous, uncomfortable reaction that I recognize was inappropriate."
"I want to be clear that I do not condone or tolerate anyone who uses such language," she continued, "and I strongly encourage the individual responsible to reflect deeply on their words and the harm they've caused."
The 25-year-old—who placed third on Love Island with ex Chris Seeley—concluded her statement with a pledge to make a "personal donation to the NAACP and encourage anyone who feels moved to do the same." (Olandria urged her and Louis to donate that same day in her Instagram Stories.)
Louis, 24, who debuted his romance with Huda in August, shared his own apology following the incident, emphasizing that he was "extremely caught off guard" by the comment.
"I'd like to extend my sincerest apology to all those affected by the caller who used language that completely goes against everything we stand for," the Too Hot to Handle alum wrote on his Instagram Stories Oct. 29. "As a Black man, I have a greater empathy through my own lived experiences battling racism and the idea that a flustered response to a very unnerving situation could be misinterpreted for me not taking the matter seriously is incredibly disheartening."
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He added, "This was an extremely unfortunate situation, one that in no way reflects my values, not Huda's."
For Olandria's part, she condemned racism, adding that she never entertains it.
"That kind of language is never acceptable," she began in her Instagram Stories. "Not in anger, not as a joke, not ever. Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going. Defending it, laughing about it, or making excuses is even worse."
"I will not let this moment derail my purpose of uplifting my community," she continued. "I'm standing firm in who I am and using this as an opportunity to call for real accountability and awareness. We all have a role in building a culture where speaking against hate speech is the bare minimum."
The 27-year-old went on to ask those who "participated in the stream and their followers" to donate to organizations dedicated to uplifting the Black community.
"While I anticipate this will result in surface-level apologies that fade in a few days," she wrote before suggesting some foundations to donate to, "I'd like to transform this moment into something actionable."
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