Love Island USA bombshell Alannah Keyser‘s friend is speaking out after a resurfaced video allegedly shows her using a racial slur.
Alannah made her debut at Casa Amor during the Sunday, June 21, episode. After seeing her compete in the heart rate challenge, social media users quickly took to all platforms to share a throwback video in which a woman appeared to use the N-word while singing along to a song.
Us Weekly has reached out to Peacock for comment. It has not been verified whether Alannah is the person featured in the video.
However, Alannah’s friend Nick Rogers has addressed the situation.
“She is very caring and the nicest person ever. She has never exhibited any racist traits around me at all,” Nick said via TikTok on Monday, June 22. “I have never once considered the fact that Alannah would be someone who’d be racist.”
Nick claimed news screenshots allegedly of Alannah’s correspondences on Snapchat that have since been circulating online are “fake,” adding, “I just can’t imagine, me knowing Alannah, her posting that on social media. And we all know with this AI and everything like that, it could be very easy for these types of scenarios to be manipulated.”
While defending Alannah, Nick weighed in on her seemingly lip-syncing the verse with a slur.
“I looked at the video myself, and I cannot tell whether she is saying the N-word or not,” he added. “That is a very touchy subject that I know … has been a big conversation over the years and obviously I do agree that it is very inappropriate for someone who is not a person of color or Black to use that word.”
Nick noted, however, that “it was a different time” when the video was filmed. “If we’re being completely honest, that word was used a lot more freely in past years, like around 2017, 2016, it was kind of a thing,” he continued. “I grew up in a high school that was very diverse, and a lot of people said the word. It doesn’t make it right, but I just wanted to come on here and state my side of the story.”
He concluded: “I think Alannah is a great person, and I would not use any of this information that could be false in order to make a predetermined judgment of her character.”
Earlier this season, another contestant made headlines when Vasana Montgomery was cut from season 8 of Love Island USA after resurfaced social media posts showed her using a slur. She was removed from the show before she got a chance to enter the villa. Both clips were leaked from her private social media, which meant producers weren’t privy to the posts while casting the season.
“I want to address a couple videos from my teen years that have recently resurfaced,” she wrote via her Instagram Story in June. “In those videos, I used a racial slur. I am embarrassed and disappointed by my words.”
Vasana noted that she wanted to take accountability for her actions.
“I take full responsibility for what I said and understand why it has hurt and upset people,” she continued. “Since then, I have grown a lot as a person and taken the time to educate myself, listen, learn, and better understand the impact that language can have.”
She added: “That growth does not erase my mistake, and 1am not asking anyone to excuse it. I believe people should be held accountable for their actions, but I also believe in growth, learning, and becoming better. To anyone I hurt or disappointed, I am truly sorry.”
New episodes of Love Island USA are released six days a week — except for Wednesdays — on Peacock.
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