Former “Bachelor” contestant Greer Blitzer apologizes for defending racist blackface

Greer Blitzer, a contestant on the ultimate season of The Bachelor, apologized a second time for defending a former classmate who wearing a racist blackface costume at a Halloween celebration. This time the apology was in entrance of a stay studio viewers.

In October, through the filming of season 27 of actuality courting present ABC, which already had a checkered historical past of racism, screenshots of deleted tweets had been seen popped up on Reddit which confirmed Blitzer coming to her buddy’s protection. At the moment was her buddy sophomore at Lamar High School in Houston the place Blitzer, who was 18, had attended. Within the tweets, she dismissed the blackface costume as “silly however not racist” and that “it wasn’t a deliberate act of racism.”

Shortly after the primary episode of the season aired in January, Greer first apologized on her Instagram story, writing, “In my previous I’ve made some uneducated, ignorant and admittedly false feedback on my social media accounts. Specifically, in 2016, I used misguided arguments on Twitter to defend a scholar who dressed up as Tupac in blackface for Halloween.”

“I’m deeply sorry for these I’ve harm, particularly these inside the Black neighborhood, not as a result of these screenshots have resurfaced, however as a result of I’ve ever shared these dangerous opinions within the first place,” the 24-year-old continued, including added that her younger age was no excuse for her actions.

Greer, initially from the Houston space, made a powerful first impression on The Bachelor star Zach Shallcross. Nevertheless, Shallcross finally determined to not grant Greer a rose for a hometown date, which despatched Greer residence.

She was revisited on Tuesday’s episode, through which the eradicated contestants sat with the present’s host, Jesse Palmer, for temporary interviews in entrance of a stay viewers.

Acknowledging the historical past of racist incidents on the present, Palmer admitted that “we have performed a really poor job as a franchise previously at addressing critical points head-on.”

The story goes on

“I’ve wished to handle this for a very long time. I do not need to sweep it below the rug,” Blitzer started. “What I did not point out in my apology was that what occurred was racist. It is not in regards to the intention, it is in regards to the impact. And this acquaintance of mine who I knew performing blackface was racist, my protection was racist, my ignorance was racist, and I am simply so ashamed. I am simply deeply sorry for hurting the black neighborhood.

She mentioned she would educate herself on the historical past of blackface. Blitzer beforehand met with Kira Banks, a psychology professor at St. Louis College and an skilled on range, fairness and inclusion, who was within the viewers for the episode.

“I feel it is essential to call and communicate out about racism,” Banks mentioned. “The fact is that we can not break away from racism. We will say the precise factor, however what is going to we do, what motion will we take? So it is actually essential not simply to be performative, however to do it educates us, to be keen to know the story behind actions, and to be keen to do one thing else.”

Alyssa Jacobs, a season 27 contestant who’s black, mentioned it was “hurting to listen to and see the issues Greer mentioned on Twitter.” after people. However she mentioned she “respects” that Greer “all the time handled it head-on.”

Black followers of the present have been clamoring for it for years its lack of diversity amongst candidates and leads. Solely after the 2020 killing of George Floyd and an online campaign ABC producers solid Matt James as the primary black lead in The Bachelor.

That season had additionally been marred by racism when then-host Chris Harrison made a controversial assertion “Extra” call with the primary black bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, through which he defended season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for attending an antebellum South-themed fraternity celebration in 2018, when slavery was authorized within the Southern states.

After the interview, Harrison rapidly he apologized however finally left the series after 19 years internet hosting the franchise that features The Bachelorette.

In 2020, Lindsey threatened to chop ties with the franchise if it did not decide to extra range. She referred to as for hiring extra numerous producers, kept away from creating “problematic storylines” for individuals of shade, and discovering leads skilled in interracial courting.

Throughout Lindsey’s Bachelorette season, followers on-line attacked her with racial slurs.

Then, racist tweets from one of this season’s contestants, Lee Garrett, had surfaced on-line. Garrett described the Black Lives Matter motion as “terrorist group” And in another tweetrequested, “What’s the distinction between the NAACP and the KKK?

And final fall, Bachelorette Season 19 contestant Erich Schwer was outed for one more blackface incident. A Reddit user had posted a highschool yearbook photograph of Schwer dressed as Jimi Hendrix together with his face painted black. Schwer received the season and have become engaged to Gabby Windey.

Each males have since apologized.

This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.