- Love Island USA producers reportedly decided to “switch up” their casting process after several exits due to racism scandals last season.
- Casting applications for Love Island USA season 8 are officially open.
- Now, sources claim that the show’s producers are looking to cast people with “wholesome” personalities and “diverse” body types.
As we brave through the tough coldness of winter, we’re already looking forward to another season of banter and Bombshells on Love Island USA. Of course, reality TV is subject to some messiness, and last season, the Peacock fan-favorite caused a stir with not one, but two instances of racism as it aired last summer.
After Yulissa Escobar and Cierra Ortega exited the villa due to resurfaced social media posts of them using racial slurs, the show was reportedly looking to “switch up” their casting process moving forward. And—with season 8’s casting applications are already open—a new report from The Sun reveals the changes that are allegedly being put into effect.
“They are really emphasizing this time that they want to find more wholesome people to go on the show,” a source told the outlet, adding, “They’re looking outside of the typical large cities and focusing on suburbs too. Not to say that they will all be wholesome, surely that won’t be the case.”
As for the show’s ideal contestants for the upcoming season? “They want people who are very green to TV. Not a lot of knowledge of the show or how it works,” the insider shared, adding that producers are actively “trying to avoid influencers just out there looking for their 15 seconds” of fame.
These changes come after another insider told The Sun that the show will be “looking way more into the social media presence” of applicants in July.
“Starting next season, we are going to get some people working on looking way more into the social media presence and the articles, pictures and public things that potential contestants did before trying to get onto the show,” they said at the time, adding, “We are going to hire more people to dig into people’s past and things they did in public and really brush out their social media and old posts to see if anything controversial came out of there.”
For season 8, casting directors are keen on looking for people with “full, big personalities” and are prioritizing “confidence above all else.”
“Girls who didn’t appear confident are cut on the spot, even if they are physically stunning,” the source shared in the latest report, adding that “The casting directors had people of all different backgrounds and body shapes and sizes, though, I’ll give them that.”
In the end, “They seem to want to deliver a type of cast they’ve never tried out before.”
If any part of this casting process is true, we’ll definitely be seated for Love Island USA season 8.
