At this point, it’s starting to feel like every contestant on this season of The Bachelor might be the show’s villain — but right now, the frontrunner for that title is Victoria Fuller. Aside from everything rumoured to go down on her hometown date this week, back in early January, multiple online sleuths uncovered Fuller’s involvement modelling for a “White Lives Matter” clothing company. The photos went viral, and now, Fuller is finally apologizing for the scandal, assuring the show’s audience that she is against “any propaganda that supports racism of any kind.”
In the leaked photos, Fuller wears a hat that reads “WLM.” The acronym ostensibly stands for “We Love Marlins,” but other photos from the same shoot feature a Confederate flag and the phrase “White Lives Matter.”
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“I would like to sincerely apologize for my involvement with We Love Marlins,” Fuller wrote in an Instagram Story on Saturday. “My intention was only to support an endangered species. I want to say that I unequivocally reject the beliefs of the white lives matter movement.” She ended her apology with a request for “grace” moving forward.
The scandal is one that has followed Fuller throughout the season. Earlier this month, she won a modelling challenge on a group date; although her prize was supposed to be a prime feature in Cosmopolitan, the magazine announced that they would be pulling her digital cover.
“All I knew about the contestants were their first names and the energy they conveyed through the camera lens,” Cosmo’s editor-in-chief, Jessica Pels, wrote in a statement. “Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand.”
victoria f modeled for a white lives matter clothing brand she’s gotta go #TheBachelor 🤢 pic.twitter.com/OX7oajqjIF
— rach against the machine (@rchlmllnd) January 7, 2020
And someone else had some thoughts on Fuller’s modelling past, too: Bachelor lead Peter Weber. “All I can speak on is the time I was able to spend with Victoria throughout this experience,” he said when asked about the controversy. “And I truly enjoyed my experience with her. I really feel like she’s a good person.” He later clarified that his comments were taken out of context, that he “in no way” supports the campaign Fuller worked on, and that it was important for her to speak to the scandal herself.