On Monday night's Women Tell All, the Bachelor franchise attempted to address the onslaught of online bullying that contestants on the show receive, but at least one contestant is holding up a mirror. While thanking Rachel Lindsay for shining a light on the problem, Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise contestant Blake Horstmann also accused producers on the show of bullying him.
While Blake had a heartbreaking, but ultimately untarnished, season on The Bachelorette, his BIP journey was not as smooth. His dalliances at Stagecoach resulted in him becoming the villain of Paradise, and it seems he feels producers shoulder some of the blame.
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"Loved the message from Rachel last night! Unfortunately messages like that are too common," he tweeted, referencing the fact that Rachel read out loud real hate messages contestants received. "Frustrating seeing people from BIP and producers act like they didn’t bully me for an entire season. Told things like I was a 'terd [sic] that won’t flush', 'ugly' etc."
In the replies, fellow BIP contestant Chris Randone responded, "List goes on and on," appearing to corroborate Blake's claims.
Loved the message from Rachel last night! Unfortunately messages like that are too common. Frustrating seeing people from BIP and producers act like they didn’t bully me for an entire season. Told things like I was a “terd that won’t flush”, “ugly” etc. #practicewhatyoupreach
— Blake Horstmann (@balockaye_h) March 3, 2020
This accusation comes after the the LA Times reupped an interview with newly-announced Bachelorette Clare Crawley in which she also blamed Bachelor producers for her suffering, telling Amy Kaufman in her book Bachelor Nation that she felt betrayed.
“The whole process makes you so raw and so vulnerable, and that’s why it works,” she said. “You don’t have any outside distraction, so they’re your people. At the end of the day, I’m a person who builds friendships. I had to keep reminding myself — and to this day, I still have to remind myself when they call me — that this is their job. And I have to make peace with that. ... This show either builds you or breaks you. And I’m not going to let it break me, because they’re making money off of people like me. I’ll be damned if they, or anybody else, chooses how my life goes.”
Reps for Blake, Chris, and ABC did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment.