Parasocial Racism and the ‘Mean Girl’ Trap: How Reality TV Fails Dark-Skinned Black Women
Courtesy of Peacock and Getty Images: Olandria Carthen (left) and Chelley Bissainthe (right) pose side by side in a promotional photo following the filming of Love Island USA Season 7, Episode 15, titled “Build-A-Bombshell,” which featured a guest appearance by Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
“Will they top Season 6?” That was the big question fans had before Love Island USA Season 7 premiered. With Season 6’s immense success compared with the previous five, many doubted the new season could measure up.
Season 7 became the most-watched season on Peacock, with an accumulated 18 billion minutes, according to Deadline’s Peter White. The season also went viral on TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter, drawing in a fresh audience.
Fan favorites Olandria Carthen and Chelley Bissainthe received both praise and criticism. But discourse crossed the line when racism entered the conversation. Both were labeled “mean girls” and “bullies” by some fans for their interactions with fellow cast member Huda Mustafa.
Carthen, Bissainthe and Mustafa made their TV debut in the Season 7 premiere, entering the villa in Fiji. Fans speculated the trio would be seen as the new “PPG” — a callback to Season 6 favorites Serena Page, Leah Kateb and Ja’Na Craig, two Black women and one Middle Eastern woman. As the season progressed, Mustafa’s supporters accused Carthen and Bissainthe of being “mean girls,” with major conflicts unfolding in Episodes 24 and 26.
Episode 24: The Heart Rate Challenge
Each episode features challenges that test couples’ chemistry while giving them the chance to interact with others. In Episode 24, the islanders participated in the Heart Rate Challenge, where contestants danced, kissed and touched in an effort to raise heart rates.
During the challenge, Mustafa and her partner Chris Seeley chose Bissainthe and her partner Ace Greene. Seeley danced with Bissainthe, while Mustafa danced with Greene. Fans pointed out how Mustafa put Greene on the ground and straddled him backwards, placing her lower body on his chest and neck area and how the rest of the islanders looked very shocked by the performance. Mustafa had a talk with future winner Amaya Espinal claiming that Bissainthe was upset with her because she raised Greenes’ heart rate the most.
Even though the full clip of Mustafa performance was not shown when the episode aired it will be shown during the reunion on Aug. 25th.
Bissainthe, visibly upset afterward, confided in castmates.
“I wanna know if I’m tripping,” Bissainthe said.
“I already know what you’re about to say and you’re absolutely not tripping,” Cierra Ortega replied.
“It’s also, just like out of everyone, why Ace?” Ortega added.
“Exactly. So that’s why I’m annoyed too, because I just feel like there’s not a certain level of respect like that’s there,” Bissainthe said.
“Especially for her being the type of person that, who tried to set all these boundaries when it came to Jeremiah and this and that, you didn’t return none of that favor what so f***ing ever. I don’t feel like I’m wrong for feeling like that. I feel like that was an eye-opening situation.”
Bissainthe and Greene had been coupled since week 2, while still exploring other connections. She compared Mustafa’s behavior with Greene to her earlier relationship with Jeremiah Brown, when Mustafa was protective and lashed out at new women who showed interest in him.
Fans had already criticized Mustafa’s actions toward Brown, calling them “toxic” and calling her “Hurricane Huda” for loud outbursts.
Her most infamous blowups included: calling Espinal a “messy b*tch” after she kissed Brown during a challenge; accusing bombshell Iris Kendall of not being a “girls’ girl” when she kissed Brown in a challenge, dramatizing her conversation with Brown during a recoupling to embarrass both him and Kendall and finally, blaming Brown after America voted to couple him with Kendall, which led to them going on a production planned date.
Later in Episode 24, Mustafa attempted to talk with Bissainthe before bed, but Bissainthe refused, saying she wanted to calm down first to avoid a heated exchange.
Viewers split on the drama.
“Wait so Chelley can still pursue two men but no one else can?” user buildindie commented on YouTube.
“These 3 (Bissainthe, Carthen and Ortega) never liked Huda lmao she makes them feel some sort of way,” user xo1lo replied.
“Huda obviously did too much cuz Chelley had no problem with anything that the other girls were doing to him!! Plus the whole villa was shook,” another viewer said.
The incomplete clip fueled speculation whether Bissainthe overreacted or not. Meanwhile, Carthen faced criticism for telling Mustafa she had crossed a boundary, then walking away mid-conversation to grab food.
Episode 26: The Stand on Business Challenge
Episode 26 brought even more controversy with the Stand on Business Challenge, where contestants wrote anonymous notes to each other. Mustafa’s message to Bissainthe reignited tension.
“To Chelley, do you remember saying ‘it’s just a challenge’? You and Ace are still open.” Mustafa wrote.
Bissainthe asked who wrote it, and Mustafa admitted it was hers.
“Back when me and Jeremiah were together, I felt like you were the number one person to always tell me, ‘Huda, relax it’s just a challenge, relax it’s just a challenge.’” Mustafa said.
“When that was happening the only time I recall me telling you it’s just a challenge is when there was bombshells coming in and you wanted to tweak on bombshells who don’t know you, who don’t know Jeremiah, who don’t know y’all connection and you wanted to be so furious at them for no reason,” Bissainthe replied.
“I thought in general, it’s just a challenge,” Mustafa countered.
“I was not respected and I feel like too many times I give you a lot of grace for stuff,” Bissainthe said. “So I’m trying to hear you out right now, but I really don’t and it’s just like right now, it’s starting to aggravate me.”
“I did that, in that moment. It upset you, that won’t happen again. I will say, okay, I f***ked up and I shouldn’t have done that. I hate that I upset you, I really do and all I can say is I’m sorry. At the end of the day a f***king challenge, it doesn’t compare to my friendship with you. All I can ask for is forgiveness, but if you don’t want to give me forgiveness that’s fine.”
“Alright, I’m done with my questions,” Bissainthe closed.
Fan opinions split again — some thought Bissainthe rightfully called out hypocrisy, while others believed she overreacted. Carthen drew the most backlash this episode, however, for revealing Mustafa and Seeley had kissed.
The following episode, Carthen, Bissainthe and Mustafa apologized and agreed to move forward. But online, hate escalated against Carthen and Bissainthe. They were labeled “bullies,” “mean girls,” “black demons” and “jealous b**ches” with fans even urging Peacock to remove them over concerns for Mustafa’s wellbeing.
Racism From Fans and Brands
A popular X community, HudaHQ Uncensored, spread racist posts about Carthen and Bissainthe during and after the shows airing — including one member photoshopping Carthen’s face onto George Floyd and Mustafa onto Derek Chauvin captioning it “Huda ending Floplandria.”
The hate for Bissainthe and Carthen and praise for Mustafa doesn’t end on X but is on TikTok, Instagram and Reddit as well.
On TikTok, one user referred the women and their fans as “Chellychimps and Olangutans,” calling them monkeys. This is deemed racist by viewers due to a big portion of both Bissainthe and Carthens’ fanbase are Black Men and Women. Another creator, Megamind, posted a video saying: “Every time I see a video of the Huda haters it’s always the Africans … like did y’all forget y’all used to work for US [white people] and now y’all got some confidence,” while lip-syncing to Bobby Shmurda’s famous song “Hot N***a.”
BuzzFeed also faced backlash for an Instagram post joking about serving Bissainthe “a knuckle sandwich” for breakfast. Fans said it promoted violence against a Black woman and emasculated Greene, her partner. The post was deleted after a few hours, followed by a public apology.
Cast Responses
Both Carthen and Bissainthe faced intense backlash, including death threats and hacked social media accounts. Bissainthe addressed the hate in a July 17 Instagram post after leaving the villa:
“To the people who used their platforms not just to recap a show but to speak truthfully about the deeper realities Black women face, your words meant everything. You reminded the world that we are layered, emotional, complex, worthy and real. Thank you for holding the line of truth with me and for me in times where hate seemed stronger than usual…
…I’ve never been angry with the world for having opinions. A lot occurred and went unseen, but understand that you’re seeing a glimpse, maybe 10 minutes out of my 24-hour day in Fiji. Even though things were out of context, it could never stop me from expressing my love and gratitude towards all of you…
…I just ask for one favor…that my supporters turned family continue to spread love and not hate…”
Post-Show Drama
A month after the finale, cast members began sharing their experiences in podcasts, interviews and TikTok Lives. Mustafa’s interview on Call Her Daddy, hosted by Alex Cooper, drew attention. She claimed Seeley paid more attention to Bissainthe than to her, commented on his body and admitted the reason she pulled Greene during the Heart Rate Challenge was because she had once liked him.
Clips went viral as fans accused her of lying about having “no one in the villa,” resurfacing footage of her calling Carthen and Bissainthe her “sisters.”
In another interview with Entertainment Tonight, Mustafa said:
“I feel like I was bullied a lot in the villa. Like I really do, and I’m glad that other people saw that too…”
Fans quickly pushed back.
“Was she not bullying the bombshells??? Or am I tweaking??” one Instagram user commented.
“The people who saved you, comforted you, wiped your tears, bullied you? Like please stop,” another wrote.
Carthen and Bissainthe soon unfollowed Mustafa on Instagram, refueling the stan wars.
The Bigger Picture
In my opinion, Mustafa has painted herself as a victim in nearly every situation — in the villa and beyond. Carthen, Bissainthe, Brown and Seeley, all African American, were cast as villains in conflicts with her. But when Mustafa clashed with Vansteenberghe, a white contestant, she didn’t cry and fans didn’t paint him as the villain.
Social media discourse has normalized using racism and colorism to “humble” or degrade Black women, labeling them undesirable, angry, stupid or unworthy.
Peacock has yet to issue a direct statement addressing the racist attacks against Carthen and Bissainthe, instead releasing a generic post urging kindness toward all islanders.
Meanwhile, Mustafa’s fans reward her behavior, platforming it as “relatable” or “iconic,” while Carthen and Bissainthe are vilified for expressing emotions.
It echoes patterns from past seasons: Serena Page and Ja’Na Craig were called “angry, a pick me or ghetto,” while Leah Kateb’s similar behavior was celebrated. Destiny Davis was cast as the “angry Black woman,” while Kay Kay Gray was made the franchises’ laughing stock for staying with Keenan Anunay, even though their dynamic mirrored other couples who were celebrated.
Time and again, reality dating shows have proven they are not safe environments for Black women — who remain unprotected even in the face of threats, hate and racism.
