Pulse Check: Olandria's Measurements
Love Island USA's Olandria's body is tea. But what's tea?
Olandria and Chelley from Love Island USA, the most popular television show of summer 2025, recently sat down with Keke Palmer to discuss their time in the villa.
Love Island USA has taken the summer by storm. Originally a UK series, the USA version is in its seventh season, which has become the most popular season of the entire franchise. The show has given viewers memes and inside jokes that might even be considered definitive to this cultural era in time.
Mama? Mamacita?
Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales won the season finale, which premiered on July 13, 2025, earning the most votes from USA-based viewers. Olandria Carthen and Nicolas Vansteenberghe took second place. Chelley Bissainthe and Ace Greene were a popular couple that was sent home right before the beginning of the finale. Keke, for example, expressed her disappointment with their exit from the villa, and many Love Island viewers were shocked that they received so few votes. After the finale, islanders have returned to their “regular” lives, and many of them have since been doing interviews and engaging with fans on social media. Olandria and Chelley’s interview came out relatively later than other islanders. The choice of Keke Palmer was also unique, as it shirked the typical Love Island PR tour that includes The Viall Files and Chicks in the Office, for example. Additionally, many of their fellow islanders have conducted their interviews individually or as part of their Love Island USA couples. The choice to do this interview together speaks to the depth of the friendship Olandria and Chelley formed during their time on the show. It likely also speaks to their awareness that, as the two main Black women on the cast, their journeys are intertwined. Despite their popularity, as indicated by how far each of them made it on the show, Chelley and Olandria have faced racist backlash since their villa exit. As dark-skin Black women, they both navigate treacherous terrain in terms of dating and public perception, which is likely why they preferred to sit down with a Black woman for the first interview since leaving the villa.
Keke Palmer, while a culturally significant figure, isn’t necessarily known for tough reality TV debriefs. Given Love Island is all about high-stakes romantic decisions and discernment, many viewers anticipate these interviews as spaces where questions about the islander’s actions will be addressed. While the interview isn’t about Keke Palmer per se, some fans wondered whether she’d press into the right fault lines. I would say it was a great interview in terms of creating a comfortable and conversational space to discuss major points. At the same time, there was much more Keke could’ve gotten into and even challenged these two about. That said, all of these initial sit-downs are somewhat shallow. Presumably, we’ll be getting more from the reunion on August 25th, 2025, with Andy Cohen hosting alongside Ariana Madix, the host of the actual Love Island USA.
In some ways, Andy Cohen is the perfect host, as reality TV royalty of sorts, though some online have pointed out that Andy is a very vocal zionist. Of course, that’s controversial because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, but further, one of the most notable cast members this season, Huda, is Palestinian.
The most viral clip from the interview starts at 46:45. Keke asks Olandria about her relationship with Clarke, given that they were both interested in Taylor Williams. Keke suggests that Clarke was shady towards Olandria at times on the show. Many viewers have responded, saying they never noticed anything notably petty from Clarke. That complicates the energy Olandria brings in this interview in response, which some have read as slightly shady towards Clarke, whom Taylor ultimately chose.
And… this is where I’m going to give a little taste of my more unpopular opinions.
Kekeing over your most unpopular opinions?
My dream date. Great. And he knew that.
I have found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Olandria and Chelley. Let me start with the rock.
The rock. As a dark-skin woman myself, I started season 7 as a committed Chellandria fan. For the most part, I still am, though I admit I voted for Amaya. I should add, I’m a dark-skin Afro…
Caribbean
Latina woman.
So.
Proud Papaya nation.
And as hard as their haters have worked, it could be argued that their supporters have still worked harder. Olandria’s mom recently came out, cursing all of the hate and criticism her daughter has received, a testament to the strength of the critique and the veracity of the support.
On the other hand, I have been an avid viewer of the show. I watched all of the episodes. I followed all of the post-villa interviews, social media interactions, Reddit threads, and more.
And, well… I have my thoughts on a few matters that are, in fact, critical of these ladies. In the storm of hate and fervent support, it’s been hard to be someone who… just has a few things they would like to say.
On Killer Frequency on August 29th at 1pm AST, I will be giving my detailed, unfiltered thoughts on Love Island USA after the premier of the reunion. Every Friday at 1pm AST, I go live from Curaçao’s premier art institute’s Internet radio station to discuss Black diasporic cultural production.
On the 29th, I’m clearing the airwaves to focus on Love Island. Mark your calendars and plan to pull up!
For now, this viral segment of the interview highlights some of the points I want to discuss in more depth on the 29th. Olandria explains that she often intimidates people when she enters a room, even if they don’t know her. On one hand, I think beautiful, confident dark-skin Black women can relate to the underlying truth of this statement. On the other hand, Olandria has tendencies that I imagine can make her less approachable at times. We saw that on the show, and we get a glimpse of it in this viral clip.
In response, Keke suggests that it’s her measurements that intimidate people, which Olandria agrees with, insisting that it’s all natural. She asserts that she should only be compared to other natural women, not women who have had cosmetic enhancements.
There are a few things I take issue with in this statement:
1. She missed an opportunity to discourage comparison between women, period, regardless of cosmetic enhancement.
2. There is a suggestion of being better than women who have had those enhancements.
3. And this might be my most controversial take of all… I believe Olandria has had cosmetic surgery. Which also adds a different light and layer not only to this viral moment, but to who the public is beginning to understand Olandria to be.
But, Kitty, Black women are curvy. Her mom is curvy. Olandria said she’s natural. Her mom said she’s natural.
You’re telling me you think they’re lying?!
Well, hunters…
People do lie.
I’ve received a lot of heat for suggesting this, but several cosmetic experts have speculated the same. Some have said that it’s rude to comment on whether someone has had cosmetic surgery or not. And that it adds to the scrutiny Olandria is already facing.
As I’ve stated, I would avoid putting bodies on hierarchies based on “realness.”
Olandria is beautiful, and her body is tea.
Regardless.
And for everyday women walking down the street or whom we might encounter in the grocery store, I agree that it’s rude to hyperanalyze their bodies and speculate as to the work they’ve had done. But it’s also naive to act as though the standards aren’t different for public figures like Olandria, especially from reality TV. Who have functionally offered themselves to public scrutiny, and not for nothing. In return, many of them may become millionaires and the faces of some of our most beloved brands.
In terms of disclosure, I’m of two minds here.
One of my minds says:
Disclosing is their choice. I would consider it in line with their medical history, and they are well within their right to protect their own privacy.
My other mind says: I see great value in disclosing, or, at least, choosing not to mislead. As public figures, they have a tremendous impact on women’s body image, self-perception, self-esteem, and consequently, mental health and even physical health. It serves us to have a realistic sense of what natural bodies look like, not to compare or feel better than others, but so that we don’t live with unrealistic standards and expectations of our bodies that cause undue pressure and may lead us to put our bodies through dangerous procedures.
And the stakes are very different for dark-skin Black women. Don’t I know it.
Creators like Mayowa have discussed how conforming to standards of beauty regarding body type is often the only way that the mainstream accepts and embraces dark skin women. That elucidates the public’s reception and commentary on Olandria’s body, including the commitment to her being natural. There are so many comments circulating about her body. This viral part of the interview is itself an illustration, with Keke highlighting her measurements.
And it’s easy to play into that, as it seems like a compliment. I think of how the public treated AD from Love is Blind. Her body became a focal point throughout her season. She was continuously hypersexualized, which in turn led to harassment. It’s another way to think about Olandria’s commitment to certain narratives about her body.
If this conversation interests you, plan to join me on August 29th, where I’ll be going even deeper.
If you disagree… remember…
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