On Monday night's (three-hour) Bachelor episode, Victoria Fuller was once again awarded the top prize in a modeling challenge (remember that whole Revolve episode?), but now her modeling past is catching up to her. The editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Jessica Pels, appeared on last night's episode to judge the contestants on a group date that involved posing with Bachelor Peter in swimsuits and trying not to look too annoyed when another girl stole a kiss. In the end, Victoria was given the honor they'd all been competing for: appearing on the digital cover of the magazine's March issue. However, Pels released a statement during the episode last night that announced Cosmopolitan was pulling the Bachelor cover.
While Victoria has been living her Bachelor journey on screen, the rest of the world has been doing some digging. Rumors have been flying about her past, but one of the most damning discoveries happened on Twitter when it was revealed she has modeled for a company that used the "White Lives Matter" slogan.
In her statement, Pels stressed that the magazine only learned of these photos after filming the episode.
"All I knew about the contestants were their first names and the energy they conveyed through the camera lens," she wrote of her decision to pick Victoria as the winner.
While it appears the line of clothing was intended to raise awareness for preventing white and blue marlin from being overfished, its use of the slogan in a tongue-in-cheek manner is just as damning.
"Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand," Pels continues. "We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color."
If you pick up a physical copy of Cosmo's March issue, you'll still see the fashion shoot and cover inset due to the timing of this discovery, but the digital cover has been axed. Former Bachelorette Hannah Brown has offered her own solution:
While Victoria hasn't released a statement about this turn of events, she's been bracing for controversy ever since she was announced as a contestant. She released a cryptic statement on Instagram that may have been trying to get ahead of this scandal, or perhaps there's a whole other bombshell waiting for us later this season.
"The RUMORS you are hearing are FALSE," she captioned a photo of herself and her dog. "There will be a time & place where I can defend myself, but for now I choose to wait."
And, I guess, so will we.