Love Island star Leah Ketab receives death threats after following Olandria Carthen amid Huda Mustafa’s N-word controversy: ‘Having this much hatred…’

The world of reality television has once again collided with the harsh realities of social media toxicity, as Love Island USA Season 6 contestant Leah Kateb has publicly revealed she is receiving death threats on Instagram. The threats began shortly after Kateb followed Season 7 Islander Olandria Carthen, a move that placed Kateb directly into the ongoing backlash against Season 7 cast member Huda Mustafa and her fanbase amid her N-word controversy. This has ignited renewed fury from the public against Huda, who is condemning her fans’ toxic behaviour and her failure to address it.

The Huda Mustafa racial slur controversy

The controversy stems from a video involving Love Island USA Season 7’s Huda Mustafa and her boyfriend, Louis Russell, during an Instagram Live. An unknown caller, reportedly a young person, joined the live stream, appeared to reference fellow contestant Olandria Carthen, and then used a racial slur directed at Carthen. Both Mustafa and Russell were seen laughing after the slur was dropped before the call was ended.

Although Huda initially claimed she did not hear the slur and that her laughter was due to awkwardness, she later issued an official apology directly to Olandria, acknowledging that the comment was targeted and her reaction was inappropriate.

Leah Kateb responds after facing death threats

Leah Kateb, a popular alum of Love Island USA Season 6, came forward to disclose the extreme harassment she has been facing. She revealed that after simply following Olandria Carthen on Instagram, she began receiving a barrage of vile messages. These included explicit death threats and highly aggressive, derogatory comments such as “Kill yourself, b***h” and “Ugly a** hoe”, among other expletives.

In response to a follower’s message expressing sadness over the situation but implying Leah was a “hater”, Leah directly addressed the toxicity. She posted, “Bc you’re an undercover hater, and we all see you for who you are.” No one is perfect. We all make mistakes, we all grow, and we all try our best. But the way people have been treating islanders (past and present) is flat out heartbreaking. I haven’t said a word, yet I’ve received death threats telling me to kill myself, calls to my home, and messages about harming my animals… all because I followed someone I was introduced to because our stylists are close friends. But that didn’t fit that nasty narrative y’all wanted, right?” Leah said.

She added, “This whole time I’ve done nothing but wish the islanders the best and extend my support to them privately. Every single islander has reached a level of harassment that affects their mental health. Racism is not okay; bullying is not okay. Having this much hatred for someone you don’t know is not okay.”

Without directly mentioning Huda, she asked everyone to give her grace, stating, “Everyone is growing, learning, changing, and evolving. Always. Just like you are.”

Internet slams Huda and her fans

The revelation of Leah Kateb receiving death threats has prompted a powerful and widespread condemnation across social media. Fans and commentators are slamming the behaviour of Huda Mustafa’s most aggressive supporters, arguing that the fandom’s hostility reflects poorly on the cast member herself.

“It’s Huda and her fanbase. She hasn’t ever really addressed them, and they know it. The level of toxicity that she engages in and they follow has been the one variable that’s taken this to a level it never needed to go,” one user wrote.

Another user stated, “And this is the time HUDA NEEDS TO CONDEMN HER FANBASE!!! Her pr team is so wrong for enabling all this.”

“Huda was given a platform without being held accountable for her actions. If she had faced real consequences before now, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point for her or her fans. They’ve been allowed to run amok all summer & after. now facing consequences is a irl shock for them,” one user added.

A fourth mentioned, “Huda’s fans are genuinely out of control. This show is supposed to be something fun and light-hearted, but they are spreading so much hate, and it’s extremely weird.”

Huda Beauty ends partnership with Huda Mustafa

Global beauty brand Huda Beauty publicly announced it would be ending its collaboration with Huda Mustafa following the controversy. The brand, founded by Huda Kattan, issued a statement clarifying that Mustafa’s behaviour, which had been previously valued in their partnership, “does not align” with the company’s core values of “kindness and humanity”.

Huda Beauty explicitly stated that they take all forms of racism very seriously and, as a result, decided to “end our partnership and remove any related content” from their social platforms and in-store displays. The brand emphasised the importance of accountability in their decision.<br>