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Was Ballo removed from 'Love Island: Casa Amor'? Fans speculate over TikToker's cryptic caption

Tony "Ballo" Caraballo reposted his cast picture from 'Love Island' with the caption 'Almost had it'

Casa Amor doors are yet to open on 'Love Island' but there appears to be drama brewing behind the scenes already! 

The showrunners teased fans with a brief clip featuring the ten hot Casa Amor singles who would be making their debut on Sunday night's episode of 'Love Island'. Hawk-eyed fans noticed that only nine islanders were shown in the teaser, while the cast photos released by the show on social media featured ten singles. Fans immediately realized that the missing hottie from the preview clip was popular TikToker Tony "Ballo" Caraballo. Read on to know more about Ballo and why fans think he was removed from the show even before making his big debut.

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Who is Tony "Ballo" Caraballo?

Ballo is a 20-year-old model/ TikTok star from Chicago, Illinois. He would have been the youngest islander on the show. When Ballo's cast photo was released on the show's Instagram page, fans immediately recognized him and began raising concerns over his casting.

Aside from his rather young age, many fans also pointed at some controversial content that Ballo had been posting on his TikTok account, questioning the showrunners' decision to cast him. A Twitter user posted one of Ballo's TikTok in which he can be seen deciding whether he's a 'tata or butt kinda guy'. The user shared the post with the caption, "This is really what they casted for my girls, i’m sick #LoveIslandUSA."

Another user on Reddit posted a series of pictures from Ballo's Snapchat which had some questionable content. In one of the pictures Ballo's caption reads, "Someone on the show bouta get filled up like a pinata and busted like one." 

"They need to get this Ballo guy out STAT. He's current and cringy af #LoveIslandUSA," wrote a 'Love Island' fan on Twitter. Another fan tweeted, "I'm seeing some of these Ballo tik toks and I'm trying to figure out why they casted this man? Who is he for?? #LoveIslandUSA."

Was Ballo removed before debut?

After noticing his absence from 'Love Island' Casa Amor promos, many fans began speculating about the TikToker's removal from the show. A fan shared, "Ballo must have been removed. They showed all other 9 new islanders in the promo. I can't think of any other reason why they wouldn't have shown him." Another fan commented, "Please not them removing ballo already"

It looks like there might be some truth to the speculation of Ballo's removal from show, as he took to his Instagram to post a cryptic story. Ballo reposted his cast picture from 'Love Island' with the caption 'Almost had it'. Does this mean he was removed from the show even before he got a chance to make his debut? We will just have to wait and watch to see how this drama unfolds.

'Love Island' Season 3 airs on Tuesday through Friday at 9 pm ET/PT on CBS. In addition, 'Love Island' will air on Sunday nights from 9 to 11 pm ET/PT for the remainder of the season. You can also stream the episodes on Paramount+.