Bachelor in Paradise alums Blake Horstmann and Natasha Parker have feuded online over Blake's recent claim producers of the summer spinoff favor and bend the rules for Bachelor-Nation podcast hosts.
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"The only advice I gave them was to be careful of the official Bachelor podcast hosts if they are down there. They are ABC employees and will always get a good edit," Blake alleged in an Instagram Stories posting recently, according to Us Weekly.
"So don't go against them or date someone they have their eyes on. I think they should not allow these people on the beach after last season (and I love all those people that went down there) but it's a huge slap in the face [for] the audience. Like, they think we are that dumb?"
Blake, who finished as Becca Kufrin's runner-up on The Bachelorette 14, later threw Natasha -- who co-hosts the "Click Bait with Bachelor Nation" podcast -- under the bus in the comments section of a "Game of Roses" Instagram post.
Blake reportedly wrote that Natasha was "given a rose by production" when she appeared on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season last summer and was involved in a love triangle with Brendan Morais and Pieper James.
The latest Bachelor in Paradise season appeared to show Brendan using Natasha for roses while waiting for Pieper -- whom he dated for about two months "without labels" before Season 7 began filming -- to arrive on the beach.
Brendan admitted to Pieper he had downplayed the extent of their pre-Paradise relationship in order to "navigate" the Paradise process, and Natasha called Brendan "a liar" and clout-chaser for stringing her along and insisting he just had a "super casual" fling with Pieper before the show.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
As Natasha struggled to mend her broken heart and seemed to gain tens of thousands of Instagram followers overnight, Brendan and Pieper were shown laughing about their plot and discussing their social-media influence, which painted them as villains.
Natasha, however, reportedly clapped back at Blake by writing May 12 on Instagram Stories, "I do not agree with what Blake said."
Natasha, who co-hosts her podcast with Joe Amabile and Tia Booth, explained, "My situation, specifically -- and yes, I am sensitive about it because it happened to me -- so by saying that I'm going to get a good edit because I have a podcast, 'Click Bait,' you could get a bad edit if you mess with me and to be careful of me... you're basically villainizing me because I have a podcast instead of holding the toxic people accountable."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWNatasha continued late last week, "That's where I have a problem. No, if you're taking what Blake is saying and you're rallying behind it, you're basically excusing toxic behavior."
Natasha went on to suggest that Joe and Becca, who also co-host Bachelor Nation podcasts and were portrayed in a flattering light on Bachelor in Paradise 7, deserve all of the good attention they received.
"I was not toxic on the beach. Joe wasn't toxic in his relationship on the beach. Becca wasn't toxic in her relationship on the beach," Natasha insisted, referring to Joe's engagement to Serena Pitt and Becca's strong relationship with Thomas Jacobs.
"I'm not trying to speak for them. I'm speaking about my situation specifically. But if you're going to 'warn' someone about someone, why not warn them about the toxic behaviors that people can have? Oh, because you, yourself, had toxic behavior on the beach when you were there."
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Blake developed a reputation for being a bit of a playboy prior to his stint on Bachelor in Paradise's sixth season.
When filming the spinoff in Summer 2019, he found himself in hot water for having had flings with both Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman at Stagecoach festival before the show.
Blake also tried to woo Hannah Godwin on Bachelor in Paradise, but she chose to pursue a relationship with Dylan Barbour instead.
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He apparently felt emotionally abused and in the hands of producers who didn't have his best interest in mind.
When asked whether he's going to "respond" to Natasha's post on Friday, Blake wrote on his Instagram Stories, "Nope. Not worth my breath. Tell me it's the off season without telling me it's the off season. Have a good Friday," according to Us.
Bachelor in Paradise will be returning with its eighth season this summer but its host and cast have yet to be formally announced.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
