NEED TO KNOW
- Huda Mustafa apologized after she and boyfriend Louis Russell appeared to laugh at her Love Island costar Olandria Carthen being called a racial slur
- The incident happened during an Instagram Live when an unknown user called in, appearing to reference Olandria and then calling her a racial slur
- Olandria responded to the incident, calling on those who participated in the livestream to donate to organizations “dedicated to educating and uplifting” the Black community
Huda Mustafa is sharing an apology after appearing to laugh when her Love Island costar Olandria Carthen was called a slur.
The incident occurred during an Instagram Live on Mustafa’s boyfriend Louis Russell’s account when the couple answered a call from an unknown user, according to a video from TMZ.
In the video, the seemingly young caller appeared to reference Carthen and then used a racial slur. Both Mustafa and Russell laughed after the caller dropped the slur before ending the call.
Huda Mustafa apology.
Huda Mustafa/Instagram
“Woah, hey, hey,” said Russell, as Mustafa asked, “Yo, what the f—, what did they say?”
After the video, Mustafa shared a set of screenshots to her Instagram Stories saying that she and Russell “did not hear” what was said by the caller — who she noted had no caller ID — and only heard the “racial slur” and then “hung up immediately.”
She wrote, “I don’t condone anything of the sort.”
Olandria Carthen and Huda Mustafa.
Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty
The reality star added in another post that the “laughter” was because the situation was “awkward,” and that what was said was still “inappropriate” and “whoever said it is in the wrong.” She then shared an official statement to her account apologizing for the whole situation.
“I want to begin by saying I completely respect Olandria and it’s extremely disheartening that anyone, especially a presumed child, would find it excusable to use this type of language, and doing so only underlines the ignorance of the gravity that such a word carries,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.
“Olandria — it is now clear that this comment was targeted at you, and I apologize for my immediate reaction,” she continued. “My reaction in that moment came from being off guard, not from finding the word or the situation funny. It was a nervous, uncomfortable reaction that I recognize was inappropriate.”
“I want to be clear that I do not condone or tolerate anyone who uses such language and I strongly encourage the individual responsible to reflect deeply on their words and the harm they’ve caused,” she added, noting that she was making a “personal donation” to the NAACP.
Carthen also posted a statement in reaction to the incident, writing on her Instagram Stories that she does not “condone racism of any kind, nor do I entertain it.”
“That kind of language is never acceptable,” she continued. “Not in anger, not as a joke, not ever. Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going. Defending it, laughing about it, or making excuses is even worse.”
Huda Mustafa, Olandria Carthen.
Savion Washington/FilmMagic; Paul Archuleta/Getty
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She noted that “we all have a role in building a culture where speaking to one another with respect to the standard, and where speaking against hate speech is the bare minimum.”
“While I anticipate this will result in surface level apologies that fade in a few days, I’d like to transform this moment into something actionable,” she continued, adding that she encouraged those who “participated in the stream” to to donate to organizations “dedicated to educating and uplifting” the Black community like UNCF, NAACP and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
