The villa’s heating up, and not in a good way—viewers are slamming contestants for toxic behavior and double standards.
LOS ANGELES, July 1 – Across Reddit and other platforms, fans are ripping apart Love Island USA Season 7’s Chelley and Cierra, labeling them “phony,” “cruel,” and downright hypocritical. It all started after the challenge episode, when villa chats revealed what fans believe was double-crossing and subtle game-playing.
Over on Reddit, a thread called “Chelley and Cierra Gives Fake and Mean” is blowing up, racking up over 1,000 upvotes and sparking hundreds of comments. It’s kicked off a much bigger conversation about the drama and social vibes on the show.
“Cierra gives rehearsed and very fake,” one user wrote. “She agreed with something, then changed her stance when Iris weighed in.”
Drama after “Hearts on Fire” challenge
The drama heated up during the Hearts on Fire challenge when Huda got a little too close to Ace on the dance floor, sparking a fiery reaction from Chelley. After slamming Huda for making a move on Ace, Chelley found herself in hot water when she got cozy with someone else not long after.
It didn’t take long for fans to notice something didn’t add up. “Chelley is ruining her image,” one Redditor claimed. “You can’t slam someone for dancing in a challenge and then do the same thing the next night.”
Reactions poured in online, with many calling the move hypocritical and likening it to teenage-style popularity games. Someone watching called it “Mean Girls Island” and wondered if the cast cared more about camera time than making real bonds.
“The girls this season are obsessed with looking cool, not making connections,” another viewer posted. “It’s starting to feel like a popularity contest.”
A pattern of producer-driven drama?
Love Island USA is once again catching heat for stirring up drama instead of focusing on real love. Earlier this month, The Sun revealed that producers were having second thoughts about a few of this season’s contestants, saying they seemed more into fame than finding love.
“There are one or two people who probably should never have made it past final casting,” a source told the outlet. “They came in looking for fame.”
Fans are stirring the pot even more after digging up clues that Chelley and Ace might have actually crossed paths before they ever stepped foot in the villa. It turns out, per The Sun, they had a past friendship, and now people are second-guessing the truth behind their storyline.
Race and representation under scrutiny
The discussion on Reddit sparked bigger talks around race and the treatment of Black women contestants. Some people online have noticed that Chelley and Huda seem to be getting slammed way more than the other Islanders.
“I’ve noticed this pattern with Black girls on reality shows—they’re called aggressive or fake faster than anyone else,” one user noted. “It’s subtle but it’s real.”
A number of voices pushed back, claiming it was someone’s behavior that sparked the reaction, not their background. “This has nothing to do with skin color,” one post read. “It’s about how they treat people and talk behind their backs.”
Peacock remains silent as ratings surge
Love Island USA may be rubbing some fans the wrong way, but it’s still a ratings powerhouse. One of Peacock’s biggest summer shows has racked up more than 1.2 billion minutes of watch time as of mid-June, Nielsen reports.
Even with all the noise on Reddit and the growing concerns over casting, the producers haven’t responded publicly.
As the drama keeps rolling, Chelley and Cierra remain front and center. Will their actions change or keep causing friction? Drama’s moving fast in the villa and honestly, the next few episodes could either fix some hurt feelings or lock in that “Mean Girl” tag everyone’s already talking about on Reddit and X.
