‘Love Island USA’ Star Huda Mustafa’s Ethnicity Sparked a Controversial Take by Fans

Ever since Love Island USA contestant Huda Mustafa entered the villa when Season 7 premiered in June 2025, she's kept many fans wondering what she'll do next. Huda, a Raleigh, N.C. native, first sparked controversy when viewers saw her and Jeremiah Brown's seemingly clingy relationship unfold before he was eliminated in a June 22 episode. Many watching the show also had strong opinions about her candid approach to sharing with her potential boos that she's a mom.

Huda's personality equally caught the attention of the remaining men in the villa, with her emotional moments being something some of the guys could handle, while others were turned off. After watching her on the show, some viewers were curious about her ethnicity and how it influenced her perception. Here's the scoop on Huda's ethnicity.

Huda didn't share the complete breakdown of her ethnicity on Love Island USA, but according to Famous Birthdays and multiple other outlets, she's of Palestinian descent. Before entering the Love Island villa, she proudly represented her culture in her Instagram bio, as evidenced by the two Palestinian flag emojis she included in her profile. Huda also flaunted her pride for her background with various tattoos featuring Arabic phrases, including one on her chest and another on her thigh, as shown on her Instagram.

The mother of one's name is also popular within Middle Eastern culture. According to The Bump, Huda is an Arabic name that is gender-neutral and means "right guidance" or "right path." Someone who possesses the name "paves their own way through life" and is reminded through their name to "trust their instincts and draw outside the lines."

"Each journey your Huda embarks on will lead right back to you!" the outlet added.

Huda's ethnicity didn't explicitly come up during her time on Love Island USA, but some fans believe her potential partners may have the wrong idea about her culture based on her looks. As TikTok influencer @thebaddestmitch shared in her June 2025 TikTok, some of the guys seemingly think Huda is Latinx and not Middle Eastern.

In a TikTok post, the comedian shared that she noticed several of the online fitness coach's potential suitors portraying her as a "spicy Latina stereotype," which many women within the culture face.

"I think those men in that villa think she's Latina and they keep giving her Latina stereotypes and fetishization," The Baddest Mitch said, adding "She looked way more Middle Eastern before she got her work done, but she still looks beautiful. But she does look more like ambiguously Puerto Rican, I guess, I don't know."

The TikToker added that while Huda is Palestinian, the men in the house were more concerned with her fitting their "unambiguous" type. The Baddest Mitch also noted that Jeremiah even said on the show that he was attracted to "foreigners and Latinas." Casa Amor Bombshell JD Dodard also seemed to have played into Huda fitting the stereotype that all LatinX women like to argue.

Several fans agreed with The Baddest Mitch's take, mentioning that Nic Vansteenberghe also likely thought Huda was Latinx and noted how his now-viral "mamacita" response to her telling him, "I'm a mommy," was a dead giveaway. While that may be the case, it's good to know Huda has no problem representing her roots.

Catch new episodes of Love Island USA on Peacock at 9 p.m. EST daily (except for Wednesdays).