“My ignorance was racist and I am simply so ashamed”
The Bachelor franchise isn’t any stranger to controversy, and after being embroiled in a race-related scandal lately, the ABC courting present went head-to-head with a contestant controversy within the newest episode.
Greer Blitzer is a contestant within the present season of The Bachelor, which stars Zach Shallcross because the lead. Earlier than the season premiere Reddit consumer former tweets dug up from 2016 the place Blitzer defended with black face. The truth star apologized for the racially insensitive tweets on her personal social media in January, however the present hadn’t addressed the controversy till now.
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On Tuesday’s episode of “The Bachelor: Ladies Inform All,” host Jesse Palmer put Blitzer within the sizzling seat and requested her to deal with the backlash to her “disturbing” and “disturbing” posts in entrance of a studio viewers.
“The reality is that we have performed a really poor job as a franchise previously by tackling severe points head-on, and we can’t miss the chance right here tonight,” Palmer stated.
“I’ve wished to deal with this for a very long time. I do not need to sweep it below the rug,” Blitzer informed Palmer. “What occurred was racist. It isn’t in regards to the intention; it is in regards to the affect.”
The Blitzer scandal surfaced final 12 months when the solid for season 27 of The Bachelor was introduced. In her previous tweets, Blitzer defended a highschool scholar for sporting blackface, allegedly tweeting in 2016, “The scholars concerned did not even know what blackface was, so I wished to be particular. It was not a premeditated racist act.” One other alleged tweet learn, “This earlier incident was silly not racist? She did not paint herself black as a result of she felt superior to black individuals.” And in one other, Blitzer reportedly wrote: “It is also not okay to place white powder in your face. That did not make the information, did it?”
On Tuesday evening’s episode, Blitzer defined, “This acquaintance of mine who I knew carried out blackface was racist, I defended him, was racist, my ignorance was racist and I am simply so ashamed.”
“I am simply deeply sorry that I’ve harm the black group,” she stated. “I can not flip again time. All I can do is attempt to be higher now and do higher sooner or later.”
Blitzer stated she continued her schooling, studied lectures and labored with Dr. Kira Banks, a professor and advisor on range, fairness and inclusion. dr Banks sat within the viewers on “Ladies Inform All” and addressed the bigger concern by talking of taking actual motion relatively than performative phrases.
“I actually wished to dig deep into the historical past of blackface and perceive why it was flawed, why it was offensive. From the analysis I used to be in a position to do, I noticed that this was symbolic of the dehumanization of the black group,” Blitzer stated. “What I stated was flawed,” she added. “Defending that woman was racist. I need to take that accountability, I do not need to excuse it.”
This definitely is not The Bachelor’s first encounter with controversial contestants who’ve troubled pasts. Through the years, viewers have questioned the franchise’s background verify course of, particularly within the age of social media.
Within the remaining season of The Bachelorette, which aired final 12 months, the winner was Erich Schwer was at the center of the controversy for sporting blackface himself when a photograph of him from his highschool yearbook surfaced on-line. He apologized on social media for what he described as an “insensitive photograph.” In dialog with rangeHis The Bachelorette star Gabby Windey (who’s now not in a relationship with Schwer) stated, “He apologized, however finally there actually isn’t any excuse for that habits.”
Within the twenty fifth season of The Bachelor, which starred Matt James and aired in 2021 an explosive scandal broke out with successful contestant Rachael Kirkconnell finally resulting in it the departure of veteran host Chris Harrison (who was then changed by Palmer). James was the first-ever black star of the long-running present, and he fell in love with Kirkconnell, who ended up on the middle of a racially insensitive controversy. Throughout the season, photographs from 2018 surfaced on social media displaying her at a pre-war plantation-themed fraternity celebration. Harrison defended Kirkconnell in a now notorious tv interview performed by former “Bachelorette” Rachel Lindsay, who was the franchise’s first black feminine star, the place he invoked the time period “police guard.” He apologized for misspeaking “in a method that perpetuates racism,” however the chaotic scenario by no means abated, and Harrison ultimately did left the franchise. (At the moment, James and Kirkconnell are nonetheless happy together.)
And in 2017, when Lindsay’s historic season aired, through which she was the first-ever black lead in The Bachelor franchise, one of their candidates Racist and sexist tweets surfaced on social media.
Blitzer obtained Shallcross’s first style of the season, which means she was an early frontrunner. She was despatched house in final week’s episode so is now not in competitors. She appeared on “Ladies Inform All,” which brings the solid collectively to debate (and argue) the season’s drama.
Instantly after the dialog with Blitzer aired, many social media customers praised Blitzer and “The Bachelor” for a frontal apology and for not dancing the dialog. Others criticized the candidate for having to talk to a DEI counselor to grasp that defending blackface is racist.
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