“Love Island” breakout star speaks in season 7 cast
Serena Page, Jana Craig and Leah Kateb want “Love Island” fans to love Season 7 Star, just like “Love Island: Beyond the Villa.”
Payahead, tap in.
A newly crowned winner of the dating competition series, Amaya Espinal, directly from the Love Island USA villa in Fiji, is the latest guest on Call Her Daddy. Espinal, who was affectionately called “Amaya Papaya” by viewers of the show and “Amaya Papaya”, sat down with host Alex Cooper on the July 16 episode, spilling on being a bomb, winning an American heart with her sensibility and taking the bounty home.
Espinal, 25, won the final vote alongside Brian Arenales in the season 7 finale on July 13th. Alongside their bragging rights as fan favorite couples, the two split a $100,000 prize.
The New York native and heart nurse has been outspoken with Sierra Ortega, a “Love Island” castmate who was suddenly banished from the show after a racist controversy.
“We all really didn’t know,” Espinal said. “We didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. We couldn’t see her baggage. It happened literally in a flash of eyes. It was very unrealistic.”
In the week leading up to Ortega’s departure, screenshots of suspects in Instagram posts showed competitors whose family is a Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, using racist slur against Asian people to refer to her eyes negatively.
Within days of leaving the villa, Ortega posted a “accountability video” that was apologised to “the whole Asian community” and said, “I don’t think the words had a lot of pain, harm, and that it brought to the history that they had.”
Amaya Espinal’s message to “Love Island” castmate Sierra Ortega after racism scandal
For online commentary, Ortega wasn’t just a “Love Island” contestant.
Cast member Yulissa Escobar came out unexpectedly off camera three days after the series, with limited approval. Before the show premiered, the Miami businessman received backlash when several clips of her surfaced using racial slur on the podcast. She later posted a written apologies saying, “I used words that I had no right to use.”
Looking back at Ortega’s “Love Island” exit, Espinal emphasized the importance of using an inclusive language.
“I definitely think words are important and everyone should be respected,” Espinal said. “I hope she learns from her results. She’s a grown woman, so hopefully move forward. This should not be repeated.”
Amaya Espinal talks about historic “Love Island” victory
Dominican Espinal made history with Arenares and “Love Island USA” as the first Latin couple to win the show.
The victory of the fan favorite contestant praised social media for its positive media expressions in the Latino community, particularly amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
“It’s really, really huge,” Espinal told Cooper about the milestone. “My parents literally came from the Dominican Republic and didn’t have the best upbringing. So for me, Latino culture is very, very huge. I feel blessed and I am very grateful.”
Contributions: Kimmi Robinson, USA Today
