Bachelorettes stick together, especially when they’re fighting online trolls (and onscreen trolls like Luke P., too). After Monday’s episode of The Bachelorette, a sneak peek showed leading lady Hannah Brown tell this season's villain Luke Parker that she slept with one of the contestants “in a windmill.” Luke, who has previously shared some pretty questionable opinions about female sexuality and unfortunately made us hear the words “fleshy desires” on national television, was not pleased. And that’s when Bachelor Nation — including Season 11 Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe — started talking.
“Have you looked at Hannah’s social media and bachelorettes social media?” A Bach fan asked Bristowe on Twitter. “Women are coming after her and slut shaming her like they did to you. It’s so upsetting to see.”
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Bristowe wasted no time sharing her thoughts. “Women can have sex if they choose, and women can wait till marriage if they choose. Point is, ITS THEIR CHOICE,” she wrote back. “When they’re making a life altering decision to find a partner, intimacy can be important. Why is that so hard to understand?”
Women can have sex if they choose, and women can wait till marriage if they choose. Point is, ITS THEIR CHOICE. When you’re making a life altering decision to find a life partner, intimacy can be important. Why is that so hard to understand?#TheBachelorette https://t.co/iWc8SklEJr
— Kaitlyn Bristowe (@kaitlynbristowe) July 3, 2019
Some people still weren’t convinced, especially since online sleuths guess that Brown’s windmill date might be Jed Wyatt, who’s been facing some controversy of his own. One viewer responded to Bristowe’s tweet with, “Should we be supporting Hannah, when we know she’s making a regretful decision?”
Bristowe’s response was simple: that “of course we should.”
Of course we should. Have you ever done something you regret, and needed support? Or would you be fine with everyone coming after you, when you’re probably already being hard on yourself. Sometimes regrets are life lessons, which result in self compassion and growth. https://t.co/wNbNVPLXpW
— Kaitlyn Bristowe (@kaitlynbristowe) July 3, 2019
Longtime fans might remember that Bristowe was slut-shamed by fans back in 2015 after it was revealed she had sex with contestant Nick Viall during her season. She stood by her decision and told People, even before that episode aired, “To feel chemistry with somebody has a lot to do with being physical. I don’t know why that’s such a shock to people. I think it’s just a big deal because it’s The Bachelorette, and they’ve never really gone there. It’s just been this secret world in the Fantasy Suite.”
Brown’s not ashamed of her choices, either. “It’s upsetting to get messages from Christians telling me I give Christians a bad name. I’m an imperfect human. Who is yes, also a Christian,” she wrote on Instagram. “I refuse to not stand in the sun. I refuse to feel shame. I refuse to believe the lies and evil that flood my comments.”