‘Love Island USA’ Fans Believe the Producers Unfairly Targeted Sydney
Sydney Paight was one of the first Islanders to enter the villa in Love Island USA Season 4. And she immediately coupled up with Isaiah Campbell. The two went through a series of ups and down throughout the reality series. Although Casa Amor threatened to end their relationship, Sydney and Isaiah found their way back to one another. However, a challenge later exposed harsh comments that Isaiah said about Sydney.
A ‘Love Island USA’ Season 4 challenge brought up a comment about Sydney’s physical appearance
During Love Island USA Season 4 Episode 31, the Islanders, including Sydney and Isaiah, competed in a Twitter challenge. They were given fan tweets with names redacted and had to guess which cast members they were talking about.
One tweet read, “It would suck for _____ to find out _____ was comparing her to ______’s ‘natural beauty.'” After the Islanders made their guesses, it was revealed that the post said, “It would suck for Sydney to find out Isaiah was comparing her to Phoebe’s ‘natural beauty.'”
Sydney was obviously hurt by this claim in Love Island USA, while Isaiah was mad and couldn’t recall making that statement. However, he never denied that he said it. Isaiah’s actual words from Casa Amor were, “All natural. She’s f***ing gorgeous. I’m just saying, like, an 11 out of 10, bro.”
Fans called out production for including the tweet in the challenge
Following the Love Island USA Season 4 challenge, fans took to Reddit to express their disgust with the producers.
“Producers owe Sydney an apology,” one user wrote. “The internet is a cruel place. I know it, you know it, we all know it. But the tweet that PRODUCERS HAND SELECTED? That was unacceptable. Of the THOUSANDS of tweets submitted, they had to pick one that referenced her beauty vs. another woman? Are you kidding me? That’s a vile and humiliating tactic to stir up drama that really does one thing: hurt Syd.”
They continued, “It was a blatant attack on Sydney to humiliate and hurt her. I’m sure Sydney will see her fair share of horrible comments when she is out of the villa, but that’s the thing; the producers didn’t need to embarrass her in front of all the Islanders on national TV.”
Another fan commented, “I agree. I am disgusted. This was so hard to watch, and I feel terrible for her. Yes, Isaiah is to blame for a lot of hurt, but for them to select that tweet and embarrass her like this was unacceptable, and they definitely need to apologize. She’s already been embarrassed by Isaiah, and they are feeding into the bullying she’s getting about that.”
They added, “Also, I saw a post on here the other day saying the producers must hate Sydney because they always zoom in on her not looking picture ready or whatever you want to call it, and I agree, they do target her and give her unflattering angels, and now this like [what the f***] is with that?”
‘Love Island USA’ fans expressed their love for Sydney
One Love Island USA Season 4 fan started a different Reddit thread to share their appreciation for Sydney. They wrote, “I just love her. I think she’s gorgeous, funny, a loyal friend, and has a great personality. I hope after this is all over, Sydney can see how well-liked she is by the fans of the show and can carry that confidence forward.”
Another Reddit user shared, “I like her so much more than I thought I would. She’s handled herself well through all of the garbage she’s dealt with … I’d be a basket case, too, after that tweet on top of everything else that’s happened. I hope she comes out of it all a stronger woman!”
“I really admired the way she handled everything she had to deal with after Casa,” a fan commented. “She kept her focus on her own relationship with Isaiah, never once spoke poorly of the other girl involved, and tried to find space to understand Isaiah’s experience as well as her own. Mature queen sh*t.”
New episodes of Love Island USA Season 4 air Tuesdays through Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock.
