Nick Viall has taken a clear side in the recent Madison Prewett vs. Peter Weber drama, slamming the religious The Bachelor bachelorette for being a manipulative "liar" and hypocrite.
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"Here's what we know: Peter might be a lot of things. He might have been sloppy, you could have argued that maybe he's got some maturing to do, he's certainly indecisive. But what Peter has also been is honest, even to a fault, almost," Nick, 39, told his podcast guest, Entertainment Tonight reporter Lauren Zima.
"He's been so honest that he's probably gotten himself into more trouble than he needed to, where other leads have been a little bit more measured and made decisions a little bit more based off of what the audience might think, and Peter truly hasn't done that. We also know Madison to be a little bit of a liar."
Nick, who starred on The Bachelor's 21st season, just became more passionate about his opinion when Lauren appeared shocked and speechless.
"It's true! I mean, people want to forget -- I know Madison wants to forget it, but her Instagram. She commented on her own Instagram. That's not an allegation. It's a fact she did that. I'm 100 [percent sure]," Nick said, referring to how Madison allegedly created a fake fan account to compliment herself for being "real" and "genuine" shortly after The Bachelor premiered in January.
Nick admitted while the Instagram snafu was "silly and trivial," he had a larger point to make.
"There's a logical explanation for it, that she wanted people to like her. It's a totally relatable thing... I know Madison thinks I don't like her and I know people think I've been hard on Madison. I think she's just fine. I've even defended Madison," Nick continued.
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"But if you're going to be righteous, and you're going to be pious, and you're going to talk about your relationship with God and how you want to be an example to young women, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, then I hold you to a higher standard."
Nick then blurted out, "And so don't be a liar. Don't be vain."
Nick admitted he can be a vain person so he's not one to judge, but he reasoned, "Don't have your family use Bruce Pearl's house for your hometown [date] and sell it as your own home when it's not your home. I don't like that if you're going to be super pious!"
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"And I've talked to producers and they like Madison, but they also think she can be a little manipulative and a little bit of a liar," Nick added.
"My point is that Madison is very smart and very calculated. It's not an accident she did a TikTok with all the other girls [from Peter's The Bachelor season] -- and I have no problem with that. I'm not beyond doing sh-t like that. I'm just saying, it's a little bit of hypocrisy."
Nick claimed Madison's behavior is not consistent with the person she is branding herself to be.
"Her brand is God and righteousness and being the true follower of Christ," Nick said.
"And no. All she is, is just a young woman who wants people to like her and does some manipulative sh-t, and makes fake accounts, and buys followers and then lies about it when she gets caught, which is a very human and relatable thing to do -- but Peter has never lied."
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"So when we get into the game of he said, she said, and it's like, who do you believe?" Nick reasoned.
"They're both probably telling their own version, their own truth, but all I know is, I know Madison has lied and I know Peter, from what I can tell, hasn't... Peter's biggest fault has sometimes been his honesty."
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"She's far more calculated and far more self-aware of her brand and makes decisions based off of that than [off of] Peter. It didn't seem like Peter did anything wrong... I hope Madison is less polished and less sweet, but she wants people to believe a certain thing, and what I don't like is the righteousness of it all," Nick explained.
"Being a good Christian isn't just about not kissing and having sex with other people and talking about God. There's a lot more that goes into that, like humility and honesty and things like that, and a lack of vanity, and all the things that as humans we do. Right?"
Nick -- who was referencing the fact Madison is a virgin -- admitted he's just "hyper-critical" of that kind of behavior because he's seen it his whole life and "it comes across as incredibly disingenuous."
"I've criticized Peter, but for all the things we've bitched about Peter, he has over and over demonstrated the qualities of a good human, and I think sometimes that's lost on us and he's a bit unfairly treated... He's been sincere and he's been humble and he's been honest," Nick told Lauren on his podcast.
"Put it this way: I don't think Peter would've put on some obscure Instagram [account] 'there's more to the story' if there wasn't more to the story. And I don't think Madison anticipated that."
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Nick suggested Madison is "playing to what the narrative is" right now considering the majority of The Bachelor fans don't seem to support or encourage Peter and Kelley being a romantic couple.
"She's very smart like that. She's very clever," Nick acknowledged of Madison.
But Nick would apparently love to give Madison a chance to put him in his place. Nick said he has invited Madison to join him on his podcast but she's allegedly had reservations.
"We have some mutual connections. I do know this: She was wondering if she wanted to come on... She knows that I'm going to ask her about the Instagram, and I know she doesn't want me to," Nick claimed.
"I know, in fact, she wants it go away. And I'm just like, 'No, I'm sorry!' I want her to admit it... Don't be righteous and a liar at the same time -- I have a problem with that."
Peter and Kelley have been self-isolating with each other for about a month now in her hometown of Chicago amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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"I was definitely hurt and thrown off by that whole situation... To be honest, what was really confusing to me is that two days before he was spotted in Chicago, he was calling me and texting me, being like, 'I miss you, let's get back together!' I mean, I think that to me was a little confusing," Madison said on the April 21 episode of Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe.
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Madison revealed the reunion caught her totally "off-guard," as neither Peter or Kelley -- who was supposedly her best friend while filming The Bachelor -- warned her that they'd be spending time together.
Peter responded on a post about Madison's podcast interview with Kaitlyn on the Instagram account @bachelornation.scoop, writing, "@madiprew you'd think you'd have a little more respect for this situation given we both know there's more to the story..."
Peter then unfollowed Madison on Instagram, according to Cosmopolitan magazine.
Earlier this month, Peter claimed he and Kelley weren't dating but he'd be open to becoming a couple in the future because he considers her to be a wonderful person.
But according to a source, the future is now.
"Peter and Kelley are fully dating, but they aren't admitting it to people [in fear of backlash]," Us Weekly reported earlier this week.
Madison quit The Bachelor before the Final Rose Ceremony taped in Australia, so Peter proposed marriage to Hannah Ann Sluss at the end of his season.
However, Peter broke up with Hannah Ann in January because he couldn't give the model his whole heart, which resulted in Peter and Madison reconciling and giving their mutual love another shot on The Bachelor's March 10 finale. But the couple announced their decision to split two days later.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
