The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran has slammed allegations Sam McKinney is being unfairly portrayed in a negative light on the show's 21st season.
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The Bachelorette fans have been cringing over Sam M.'s aggressive behavior in recent episodes. One troll commented on social media that Sam M. is "a really bad person."
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In response to backlash and criticism, Sam recently posted two emojis, a mirror and smoke, via Instagram to indicate that things may not be what they seem.
Sam M.'s family has also been blowing up social media with fiery messages directed at The Bachelorette producers for allegedly creating a false narrative about Sam M. and giving him a very unflattering edit.
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Jenn, however, said she thinks Sam M. has been accurately represented on The Bachelorette's 21st season thus far.
"Sam M. is very different with the guys than he is with me. I was very shocked to see that behavior," Jenn told Nick Viall during a recent episode of "The Viall Files" podcast.
When asked if Sam M.'s behavior during filming was as aggressive as it has appeared on the show, Jenn responded, "I will say, in the moment, it was exactly how it was portrayed [on The Bachelorette]."
For example, Sam was shown pressuring Jenn to jump off a sky tower during their one-on-one date in New Zealand when she was completely frozen with fear and cried about not wanting to do the activity.
As Sam laughed and made light of the situation, Jenn accused Sam of not listening to her needs and failing to read her emotions.
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Sam's actions infuriated many The Bachelorette viewers, and even Jenn said the bachelor had made her feel uncomfortable and "really pissed off" at times.
But Jenn admitted she didn't send Sam M. packing during those red-flag moments because prior to her The Bachelorette journey, she was used to dating men who weren't empathetic.
"I didn't have men -- not coddle me -- but check on me and have that nurturing feeling," Jenn recalled on Nick's podcast.
"And so when a partner [acts harshly], it feels familiar... I remember in that moment, I was like, 'This is how my brother would react.' But that's okay because that's my brother, it's not my partner. So it's funny thinking back now that I let it slide so easily."
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Jenn also confessed that she didn't want to send Sam M. home prematurely because she had "so much hope" for their strong Night 1 connection.
"I kind of had this gut feeling [about him]," she noted.
"At this point, I wanted to prove myself right, like, 'I picked this guy for the First Impression Rose for a reason.' And so I did give him a couple of chances to prove that to me."
Sam became one of The Bachelorette villains by feuding with Devin Strader multiple times and calling him "an ankle-biting dog" and "a bully." (ABC took a jab at Sam M. by writing in an onscreen graphic that Sam needed to look up the definition of the word "bully" in the dictionary).
After joining forces with Thomas Nguyen, Sam also mocked Sam Nejad's premature love profession to Jenn during the striptease group date.
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In addition to how Sam M. treated Jenn during their solo date in Auckland, he also gave her an awkward lap dance -- which Jenn didn't seem to want in the moment -- when asking her to be his girlfriend.
Sam M. also hasn't been portrayed as the brightest bulb in the group given he seems to repeat the same cliche phrases such as, "Keep the main thing, the main thing."
While Sam hasn't stood up for himself on social media, presumably due to contractual obligations with ABC, his family has been doing the talking for him.
"@bacheloretteabc you can silence your contestants, but you can't silence me #freespeech #letstellthetruth," Sam's sister Olivia McKinney recently wrote via Instagram Stories.
Sam's other sister Hannah McKinney vented, "Let's see all the footage @bacheloretteabc.... I'm waiting."
Many of the angry messages Sam's family has written were uploaded via screenshots on Reddit.
One fan wrote to Hannah, "You don't have to defend your brother so hard. The viewers can see Sam's actions or hear the words he speaks. Your brother acts and speaks like a BULLY. He can learn from his mistakes and BECOME A BETTER MAN."
Hannah replied, "Lol he isn't a bully and never has been. Again, they cut out so much that you aren't getting the true context [of] everything that is happening. I will defend my brother day in and day out... especially when they are being portrayed as somebody they're not."
Sam's brother Seth McKinney got in on the action and wrote, "If only they showed footage of other people being the bully and Sam and Thomas actually being good guys."
But it happened to be Sam's parents who penned the most passionate and angry messages on Facebook.
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Sam's mother, Susan McKinney, argued, "There is nothing real about 'reality' tv. To destroy someone's character and manipulate the truth through editing is wrong on so many levels... There are several spoilers out there for who [Jenn] chooses in the end."
"Sam is a good guy regardless of how he is betrayed," she continued, "and I will no longer sit idly by and not speak up. Hey The Bachelorette it's called free speech. At least mine is honest, which is more than they can say."
And Sam's father, Jeff McKinney, revealed that Sam has been "a complete wreck" over how he's been portrayed on The Bachelorette's 21st season.
"Sam has (mostly) been the favorite with the first impression rose, etc. The spoiler was revealed and (in my opinion) the network had to paint Sam as this horrendous guy in order for Jenn not to look like a complete idiot," Jeff explained.
"Now I know why the network offers free counseling for 1 year after the show."
Jeff claimed Sam's words and phrases were cut and pasted to create a narrative The Bachelorette wanted to run with.
"Can't change what he said and how he said it, but they can change the scene, script and context and totally change the delivery. That's how I feel. #StandWithSamM," Jeff concluded.
But Sam M. may have redeemed himself in some viewers' eyes on The Bachelorette's fifth episode that aired on August 5. Sam M. comforted Jenn when she was feeling unworthy of love, and he assured the Bachelorette that all of the guys left -- even his enemy Devin -- viewed her as their future wife.
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Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including who Jenn picks as her winner and runner-up.
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