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- “Bachelor” fans and alums are calling out the show for showcasing bullying between the contestants.
- “Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay told Insider she’s tired of the show’s focus on Victoria Larson.
- “Bachelor” stars Sean and Catherine Lowe also told Insider they believe social media has caused the show to change.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
“The Bachelor” is definitely getting people talking this season, but very little of the conversation has been about Matt James and his developing relationships.
Instead, fans and “Bachelor” alums alike are calling the show out for showcasing the bullying between contestants, which continues to ramp up each week.
“I am just very confused as to the nature of the show,” former “Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay told Insider while promoting new episodes of her MTV series “Ghosted.”
“I even talk with ‘OG’ Bachelorettes. We’re all in a [group] chat and we’re like, ‘What’s happening with the show?’ It seems so different from the show we were originally on, and I wasn’t even on that long ago.”
Name-calling and serious allegations were both featured in last week’s episode
Craig Sjodin via Getty Images
The drama at Nemacolin Resort – this season’s temporary “Bachelor” mansion in Farmington, Pennsylvanie due to COVID-19 restrictions – came to a head between the women after host Chris Harrison announced that five new contestants would be competing for James’ heart as well.
During an on-camera interview, Anna Redman said she'd heard rumors that new contestant Brittany Galvin was an escort "because she knows all of the rich men in Chicago."
Redman told the other women about the rumor before bringing it up to Galvin herself, who denied the allegations.
Victoria Larson - who has dubbed herself "Queen Victoria" this season - is also making headlines for her antics, including snatching a crown off the head of former Miss Puerto Rico Catalina Morales.
"Catalina is the dumbest ho I've ever met," Larson tells Anna at one point during the episode.
The drama has taken up most of the season, leading many to question the direction of the franchise
ABC
Lindsay said the drama-centered storylines, instead of ones that focus on James, "bears the question of, What's happening here? Who are we trying to attract? Is it a younger audience? Is it an audience that would be entertained by bullying? I would say that's not the case because a lot of viewers seem to be really upset at what they're seeing."
Catherine Lowe, who won Sean Lowe's season of "The Bachelor" in 2013, agrees that this season has felt more vicious.
"It's definitely a different level of bullying and just gaslighting people that you live with," she told Insider in a separate conversation. "It's been really cringey to watch and kind of icky to just see."
Lindsay said she's especially tired of the show's focus on Larson, who many fans - and some "Bachelor" alums - have accused of being a producer plant.
ABC
"People are not entertained and amused by Victoria, or the 'queen' as she calls herself yet she got to go on 'Good Morning America' and was given a bigger platform," Lindsay said of the morning show, which airs on the same network as "The Bachelor." "All her behavior is being rewarded."
Larson appeared on "Good Morning America" last week to defend claims that she was a bully on the show, even offering an apology to "Bachelor" contestants.
"If my words or actions hurt anyone I sincerely apologize and I'll do better and hold myself accountable," she said during the interview. "I'm not a bully. I'm really not."
But many on Twitter, including former "Bachelor" contestant Taylor Nolan, were less than impressed that she had been given the opportunity to appear on "GMA" in the first place.
—Taylor Nolan (@taymocha) January 26, 2021
—Oveda Brown (@ovedabrown) January 26, 2021
—Noressa Kennedy Hinkler (@noressakennedy) January 26, 2021
Lindsay believes by seemingly rewarding Larson, it sets a precedent for future contestants to come on the show "for the wrong reasons."
"You want to be a 'Victoria' so you can get the fame and the attention," she said. "And is that fair to Matt James and whoever the next lead is if they're really trying to find love?"