Since Matt James‘ season of The Bachelor began, contestant Rachael Kirkconnell has been shrouded in controversy. In a new tweet, blogger Reality Steve revealed that The Bachelor contestant plans to publicly comment on the allegations fans have lodged against her.
Kirkconnell has been accused of bullying, cultural appropriation, and racist social media activity. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, James encouraged fans of The Bachelor to not spread rumors about contestants.
[Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers for Matt James’ season of The Bachelor.]
The controversy surrounding Rachael Kirkconnell on ‘The Bachelor’
When James’ season of The Bachelor premiered, a TikTok user alleged that Kirkconnell “bullied me in high school for liking Black guys,” according to Cosmopolitan.
Fans of The Bachelor went through Kirkconnell’s social media and alleged that the contestant “liked” racist social media posts. The Bachelor fans also claimed Kirkconnell took part in cultural appropriation when a photo of the contestant dressed as a Native American was found online.
On Feb. 4, photos of Kirkconnell allegedly attending Kappa Alpha fraternity’s Old South Ball in 2018 were leaked online. Chapters of Kappa Alpha across the U.S. put on Old South formals each year where the invited women wear antebellum dresses and celebrate Old South values with the fraternity members.
According to NBC News, the fraternity “traces its roots to the Civil War and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee,” and over the years “the fraternity has been forced to halt its ‘Old South’ festivities on some campuses because of claims of racial insensitivity.”
Reality Steve says ‘The Bachelor’ contestant will release a statement
Despite being a frontrunner on James’ season of The Bachelor, Kirkconnell has remained controversial with fans. After the photos of Kirkconnell at the fraternity formal leaked, Reality Steve shared that he would hold an Instagram Live with former Bachelor contestant Ashley Spivey to discuss the controversy.
On Feb. 6, Reality Steve told fans of The Bachelor that he was postponing the Instagram Live because Kirkconnell plans to release a statement about the allegations.
“Because I’ve learned that a statement from Rachael is imminent, we have decided to postpone the live until our regular live on Tues. If it happens to come out sooner we will do a live before that. We really want to get this live right and provide the best and most accurate info,” Reality Steve tweeted.
Matt James spoke about Rachael Kirkconnell’s previous controversies
Kirkconnell releasing a statement of her own would be abnormal because contestants on The Bachelor are usually not able to address things while the show airs. Typically, only the leads of the show are able to speak to the media about contestants’ controversies.
On Feb. 2, James spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the allegations against Kirkconnell. His interview with ET occurred just days before the alleged antebellum-themed photos appeared online.
“I have not spoken to anybody since the show ended, but I would say that you have to be really careful about what you are doing on social media,” James said. “Rumors are dark and nasty and can ruin people’s lives. So I would give people the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully she will have her time to speak on that.”
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