Sydney Hightower is slamming accusations she had lied about being bullied in high school during her one-on-one date with Peter Weber that aired on The Bachelor on Monday night.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' SPOILERS: ALL OF PETER WEBER'S SEASON DETAILS, INCLUDING HANNAH BROWN, FINAL 2 PICKS AND FINAL ROSE CEREMONY
Sydney told the pilot that she had financial troubles growing up and girls made fun of her in middle and high school.
The Birmingham native said girls would call her "Oreo" and people would vandalize her home, adding that she never went to prom and had to eat her lunch in a bathroom stall all senior year.
Not long after the conversation aired, one of Sydney's former classmates posted photos from her high school yearbook, apparently showing that Sydney was crowned queen in a beauty pageant dubbed "Upperclassmen Top Beauty."
"'Ate lunch in the bathroom everyday of highschool' #bachelornation I'm selling my yearbooks for $200 a pop, who wants the tea," the person wrote on Twitter along with more than a handful of crying-laughing emoticons.
But Sydney didn't waste any time defending herself on Monday after the photos -- which depicted Sydney as Miss Popular in high school -- went viral.
"Feels ridiculous I even have to address this. But correct I did win a beauty pageant my senior year of high school," Sydney tweeted.
"That was voted for by 5 judges. Not by my peers. Winning a pageant based off of outer beauty does not take away the racial bullying, and isolation I've been through. I was also on the cheer team in middle school and in many clubs in high school. You'll do anything you can to fit in, and I tried."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? (PHOTOS)
Sydney added, "I won pageants because of my 'looks' and I was in clubs because I wanted a scholarship to get into college. Not because I was accepted by my peers."
"Any one from my high school want to pull out the videos of girls stuffing my locker with Oreo cookies, vandalizing my home, shoving me in the hall ways?" Sydney ranted. "Teachers literally referring to me as a halfbreed? Calling my mother the worst names I've ever heard in my life? I doubt that."
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
Sydney later shared screenshots of the messages she had apparently sent the Twitter user directly.
"Setting the record straight," The Bachelor bachelorette captioned the post.
"I've been through so much from the town I grew up in and will not allow my story, or others to be [diminished] because of one of the same girls, with the same mindsets as the people who terrorized me. Not happening."
Sydney allegedly told the person who had posted the yearbook photos in Twitter DM, "Shame on you. Shame on you for spreading hate and trying to construe something on the internet to hurt another human being. I don't know you, but I do remember you from high school and your social group did not care for me. And that's OK. Because I would never want the approval of hateful, racist human beings."
Sydney went on to say the hate she had endured for being biracial was "astounding."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR WINNERS ULTIMATELY END UP MARRYING?! (PHOTOS)
"I did eat my lunch in the bathroom stalls, I did have to wipe 'n-gger lover' and 'half breed' and 'monkey nose' off my car windows and pavement. But you will never know those struggles... I have had to face," Sydney wrote to the person.
"But you will never know these struggles, and that's a blessing. I feel sad for you, and I'm sorry that you have not grown as a human being since high school. I hope you know that I will be praying for you and I hope you know this will not affect me, but it did hurt me that you would try to diminish my pain, and my struggles."
ADVERTISEMENT
The former classmate subsequently clarified her intentions on social media but didn't exactly back down.
"She did experience bullying and racial issues," the Twitter user wrote, "but the whole point was she got on TV and said her entire senior year, which isn't true. But she also took part in being a mean girl."
Sydney has clearly been a target of hate on The Bachelor this season. Following her scandal with the former classmate, Sydney posted a couple messages she had received from trolls calling her "dirty" trash, unclean and more.
One person apparently told Sydney to "rot in hell" and said she'd never compared to Alayah Benavidez.
Sydney managed to get a rose from Peter on their one-on-one date in Costa Rica, and now she's one of 10 women remaining heading into The Bachelor's next episode on Wednesday, February 5 at 8PM ET/PT.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
