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Taylor Williams and Clarke Carraway were voted off "Love Island USA" this week when America decided who their favorite couple is so far -- their pairing was dead last, so they got a one-way ticket home ... but they tell us their relationship wasn't given a fair chance!!!

If there's anyone they'd sacrifice for a spot back on the island, they'd throw Huda Mustafa and her connection with Chris Seeley overboard without hesitation -- saying their relationship is way more genuine than people know, and Huda's stubbornness ruined what she had going with Chris ... nothing new for our problematic queen.

Huda has been blasted with intense heat this season, online and from other islanders. Taylor and Clarke think there's no chance of her rekindling the connection with Chris, because she's stubbornly hard-headed.

A casting director is calling out the producers of "Love Island USA" for not doing their due diligence when casting not one, but two contestants who've been exposed for their past racist comments ... the casting pro says it's shocking the show hasn't learned from reality TV history.

It's no secret "Love Island USA" dropped the ball on background checks this season -- Cierra Ortega and Yulissa Escobar each got the boot for their previous racist commentary -- and fans are furious these two women were platformed without the show doing proper research.

But, the talent recruiters themselves may not be the department that deserves the blame in this case ... 'cause our source defends the casting community -- saying this sort of background check should've been vetted by production -- and doesn't understand how something like this gets missed.

Former "Love Island USA" cast member Yulissa Escobar says her N-word scandal went from folks holding her accountable to people sending her death threats and vile scorn ... and she's sharing some of the hateful messages she says she's been getting.

Yulissa just posted a bunch of direct messages she says she's received since being booted from the hit reality show ... and there are threats of violence, comments on her appearance and folks telling her to kill herself.

She says the hateful messages have been pouring in daily since she was kicked out of the 'Love Island' villa after fans found out she had casually dropped the N-word on podcasts in the past.

Connor Tomlinson had an out-of-this-world experience with Captain James T. Kirk ... or at least an A.I. William Shatner -- who had a ton of nice stuff to say about the star.

The "Love on the Spectrum" star stopped by Howie Mandel's studio in Los Angeles to get up close and personal with Proto Hologram earlier this week ... and, he was clearly awestruck by meeting Will -- even just this faux version of him.

The group peppered Holo Will with questions about 'LotS' ... including what he loves about Connor and what his favorite moment from the show is.

Alligators, bears, hippos and more animals are getting messed up on a bunch of different substances ... and, a few intrepid wildlife experts are taking fans inside the situation.

The trailer for "Animals on Drugs" -- a new Discovery Channel series premiering later this month -- follows Forrest Galante and his team as they look into a few animals that have become addicted to some destructive substances.

For example ... Galante and his team get up close and personal with gators high on meth, hard-drinking bears and Pablo Escobar's famed cocaine hippos.

Folks can't get enough of "Love Island USA" ... because music from the summer's hottest show is doing big numbers on Spotify ... and fans are creating playlists for their favorite contestants.

Our sources over at Spotify tell us streams of the 'Love Island' theme song -- "Make Me Feel - EDX Dubai Skyline Remix" by Janelle Monae and EDX -- have spiked nearly 2,000% in the U.S. since June 3, when the latest season debuted.

We're told fans are also flocking to Spotify to create their own "Love Island" playlists ... with the music streaming platform seeing a 6,300% increase in the 'LI' lists.

"Love Island" alum Sharon Gaffka is not buying what Cierra Ortega is selling in her apology video for using an Asian slur ... Sharon says Cierra knew full well what the hateful word implied.

Sharon -- who was on "Love Island" back in 2021 -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked for her reaction to Cierra's apology video for some past use of a racial slur online.

The thing that bothered Sharon the most was Cierra saying she didn't know the "word held as much pain, as much harm, and came with the history that it did" -- Cierra's from Arizona, and Sharon says anyone with access to the internet in America should know it's a hateful slur.

"Love Island USA" contestant Cierra Ortega is owning up to the racial slur that got her booted from the show -- but while she's apologizing, her grandma's clapping back, slamming the backlash coming her way.

Magdalena Carrillo tells TMZ in no uncertain terms -- her granddaughter is not a racist, and neither is anyone in their family ... pointing out they're immigrants themselves, so the outlandish accusation just doesn’t track.

Magdalena tells us the whole thing's gotten out of hand -- she's honestly shocked and heartbroken to see all the hate her granddaughter's recently endured.

Voice actor James Carter Cathcart, famous for his work on "Pokémon," is dead ... TMZ has learned.

James died Tuesday after a years-long battle with oral cancer ... according to a family member. We're told he died at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx.

On "Pokémon," James brought several characters to life with his voice ... Professor Oak, Meowth, Gary Oak and James from Team Rocket.

Kim Zolciak's baring it all -- the reality star joined "Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind" to spill every nip, tuck, and tweak in her beauty bible.

Buckle up, 'cause Kim did not hold back -- confessing she’s had her boobs done (more than once), a tummy tuck, nonstop Botox, neck surgery after a herniated disc, and got Ultherapy to keep that jawline snatched without a scalpel.

Interestingly, the 47-year-old left out a few juicy procedures she's already gone public with --like the laser vaginal rejuvenation she proudly revealed in '23, and the filler she got in her ears to help hold up her giant diamond earrings ... yes really.

Cierra Ortega is owning the racial slur that got her booted from "Love Island USA" -- and says she agrees with production's decision to cut her from the show.

In a lengthy video and written statement she shared on Instagram Wednesday evening, Cierra says she's been back home for 48 hours and is ready to address herself "very naively using an incredibly offensive and derogatory term."

First and foremost, she apologizes to the Asian community and everyone she offended, adding ..."I had no idea that the word held as much pain, as much harm, and came with the history that it did or I never would have used it."

American actress Sarah Hagan was only 15 years old when she first played Millie -- Lindsay's nerdy neighbor and loyal friend, and the devout Christian -- in the drama series "Freaks and Geeks" back in 1999.

Sarah was part of an ensemble cast including Linda Cardellini as the former Mathletes member who finds her way towards the "freaks," Lindsay, John Francis Daley as the awkward geek who loves comedy and science fiction, Sam and James Franco as the hot bad boy who uses his confidence to cover up his insecurities, Daniel.

Richard Taite -- a celebrity addiction and recovery specialist -- says it's a good thing  Whitney Purvis is behind bars, because she's accused of doing some really bad sh*t ... allegedly dealing drugs that killed a man.

As TMZ first reported ... Purvis -- who starred in the reality show "16 and Pregnant" -- was arrested Monday for involuntary manslaughter and drug offenses in connection with the fentanyl death of John Mark Harris in Floyd County, Georgia.

She was slapped with the manslaughter charge for intentionally distributing the drug Tranq -- which is a combo of fentanyl -- an opioid -- and xylazine -- a horse tranquilizer. Making matters worse for Purvis, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration is now investigating.

Denise Richards' reality return was always meant to be a short-lived ride ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... "Denise Richards and Her Wild Things" won’t be getting a second season -- but that was the plan all along.

We’re told the network treated the project as a limited-run series and never intended to extend it beyond its debut season.

So, despite the recent news and headlines around Denise's split from husband Aaron Phypers, Bravo isn't scrambling to fire up production cameras for more "Wild Things" drama.

Our deep dive into the first-ever declassified Pentagon report detailing 144 accounts of UFO sightings is officially up on YouTube ... and there's a lot to unpack.

"TMZ Investigates: UFOs: The Pentagon Proof" analyzes our government's official response to UFO conversations from an investigative standpoint ... we interview key players and showcase footage of UFOs recorded from all over the world.

We talked to military officials and pilots who say they suffered severe retribution for daring to implore the Pentagon to take UFOs seriously ... including former Pentagon Counterintelligence official Lue Elizondo.

We've made it to Wednesday, so here's a lil' sweet treat to get you goin' for the rest of the week! Can you guess which Georgia peach put her bikini bod on blast in the Bahamas with these eye-popping hot shots?!

She may have grown up in Atlanta, but just like her famous mama, she's bringin' the reality TV drama to the Big Apple.