The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown is facing serious backlash after sharing video of herself singing the N-word. And now, members of Bachelor Nation are weighing in.
During an Instagram live yesterday, the 25-year-old reality star dropped the slur while rapping along to DaBaby song “Rockstar.”
As time progressed through the live broadcast, Brown began to notice criticism for using the word from fans in the comments. “I did? I’m so sorry…” Brown said. “I was singing the— I’m so sorry.”
At one point, she even suggested it may have been her brother, Patrick Brown. When viewers continued to confront her, Brown addressed it again.
“I really don’t think I said that word,” she said. “I don’t think I said that word, but now I’m like, oh god. I’d never use that word. I’ve never called anybody that. We don’t say that word….So, you know what, I’m going to stay here, and y’all can think I said whatever I did or think I’m something I’m not, but I’m not that.”
Former The Bachelor contestent Bekah Martinez took to her Instagram stories to address her anger with the situation.
“How are celebs still gonna defend CELEBS with access to SOOO much privilege, knowledge and education saying the N-word…even if it’s “just the lyrics to a song?” 25-year-old Martinez wrote in a statement.
She continued: “Especially when that person had the wherewithal to skip over the F-word lyric first. We’ve GOT to hold people accountable to do better otherwise we’re continuing to prioritize the feeling of white people (and some we “stan”) over ending our country’s loooong history of casual racism and flippant anti-blackness.”
Martinez then gave a bit of a history lesson, explaining the implications of the word.
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“And no. you can’t say the N-word just because black people say it,” she said. “Black people reclaimed the use of a word that was used for centuries to oppress and dehumanize them. It’s a word that holds so much historical weight that the black community is still healing from, and part of the white community are STILL weaponizing for dehumanization, particularly in the south.”
“So no, it’s not cool to just sing along the lyrics of a song,” Martinez added. “Especially not ON YOUR PLATFORM WITH MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS?!! smh. it’s 2020. at least make a legitimate apology and acknowledge your behavior.”
Following her written statement, Martinez posted a follow-up video, saying, in part: “It’s also just upsetting to me when people don’t take the weight of their responsibility as someone with a lot of privilege and a lot of influence seriously and don’t take the time to care and acknowledge when they f**k up.”
While he hasn’t addressed the controversy directly, fans believe that Matt James, Tyler Cameron‘s best friend and member of the “Quarantine Crew,” has indirectly addressed the situation on Instagram.
For starters, James posted an Instagram story of himself getting ready for a run, with the text, “Let’s spread love today.” The photo also featured the text, “John 8:7,” a reference to a bible verse, positioned next to a bee emoji.
The bible verse in question, reads, in part, “So when they continued asking [Jesus], he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
At one point, Brown was partying with the Quarantine Crew down in Florida, but has since relocated back to Alabama.
The Bachelor alum Nick Viall also chimed in on the situation. On Instagram Stories, Viall said he plans to process Hannah’s actions before truly giving a statement, but shares his “initial thought is that it’s deeply disappointing to see.”
Following the backlash and criticism surrounding her actions on social media, Brown took to her Instagram Stories to address the situation.
“I owe you all a major apology,” the reality TV personality’s statement on Instagram Stories began. “There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said. I have read your messages and seen the hurt I have caused. I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better.”
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Later on Sunday afternoon, former Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay took to Instagram to share a “word” on why non-black people should not be using the slur.
“You guys have to excuse my appearance, I just got off the Peloton because I needed to release some tension, I needed to release some stress,” Lindsay said on a video posted on Instagram TV. “I honestly… didn’t want to have to do this. To be honest, I’m tired. I’m so tired of feeling like I have to be the one to say something.”
“I never wanted to speak on this, I never wanted to say anything, I’m honestly tired of feeling like I have to speak because other people won’t […] I’m personally offended by what was done… to start from the beginning, last night when everything popped off, I didn’t see it but I woke up to a bunch of messages today, basically telling me what happened, so I tried to do something a little different. I thought instead of me dragging her [Hannah Brown], which is what people wanted me to do, and I’m not necessarily in the business of doing that.. I thought, let me just pull out a verse from the Bible. The Bible says in Matthew 18:15 that when you feel offended, you should go to that person and let them know that they offended. So I did that, I thought, you know what, let me just speak to the person directly and let them know how I’m feeling.”
Aside from Lindsay, Reality Steve and Ashley Spivey also addressed Brown’s use of the N-word from Saturday’s Instagram Live video. Spivey said that there is “no one less able to address it” than she and Reality Steve but hopes that Bachelor Nation fans were able to watch Lindsay’s video on why it’s not okay.
Further, the two agreed that Brown should have never said the N-word and “should have given a better apology last night.” It shouldn’t have taken her “over 12 hours to address [her mistake],” said Reality Steve.
The two went on to discuss the fact that in saying the slur, Brown wasn’t using her platform for good and ultimately “doesn’t understand the power behind her platform.”
Spivey added, “It’s not black people’s jobs to explain why you can’t use that word.”
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