The Bachelor star Clayton Echard's social-media activity has some of his followers believing he has slyly confirmed speculation that the show's producers made him keep Shanae Ankney on his season knowing she'd continue to spark drama and make great television.
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Clayton posted a photo from his first one-on-one date with The Bachelor bachelorette Gabby Windey in which they were both laughing on Tuesday, and in the comments section, a fan wrote to Clayton, "Wear blue in your next photo if you were forced to keep Shanae against your will."
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Clayton didn't reply to the comment that has since received about 350 likes, but only one day later, he posted two photos of himself wearing blue shorts!
"YOUR SHORTS ARE BLUE," the same Instagram user commented on Clayton's Wednesday post, which featured Clayton joking around in a gray sweatshirt with a small flamingo floatie next to a pool.
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And Clayton actually replied to his follower, "That is a correct observation!"
Clayton's decision to respond to the curious Instagram user on Wednesday has left some of his followers believing he also read her first comment and followed through with her request.
If so, the blue clothing in Clayton's subsequent post would then slyly confirm to the world that producers had told him what to do about Shanae while filming Season 26.
The 28-year-old medical sales representative and former college athlete appeared to confirm a possible behind-the-scenes plot after fans lashed out at him for giving Shanae a rose on Monday night's episode.
Many fans seem furious Clayton decided to keep Shanae around although he had been warned from his bachelorettes that Shanae had thrown a trophy into a pond and also sworn at Sierra Jackson and Genevieve Parisi.
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Shanae has taken credit for the eliminations of multiple women and repeatedly called her competition "b-tches" and "hoes."
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One follower wrote to Clayton that he's "deserving" of a person like Shanae, and another person wrote how he's "the worst Bachelor ever." Another Instagram user said people don't want to watch the show anymore because Shanae is still on it.
Clayton may have felt the need to speak out under the radar to clear his name.
After all, Clayton recently retweeted a Twitter post about Shanae being manipulative, like a secret serial killer, and then he wrote in a since-deleted comment that Shanae had "killed all" of his credibility, adding, "Lock her up!"
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Late last month, Clayton publicly apologized on social media for sending Elizabeth home after her feud with Shanae.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, for what you're going through. I wish I could have seen what was happening when I wasn't there," Clayton wrote at the time.
"I obviously knew y'all weren't in a good place with each other, but I thought at the time that it was, solely, petty drama. I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known."
But The Bachelor bachelorette Lyndsey Windham just accused Clayton of lying about Shanae earlier this week.
Lyndsey said Clayton's recent claim that he would've eliminated Shanae immediately had he known more about her behavior on the show and the fact she had mocked and poked fun at Elizabeth Corrigan's ADHD disorder was a lie.
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Lyndsey said in her Tik-Tok video, "After the Baywatch date, Clayton chose to spend our time asking me about the drama in the house and why Shanae felt so bullied in the mansion. And I explained to him, word for word, that I would never want anyone to feel bullied."
"However, when someone is mocking and making fun of someone's mental disabilities," she added, "that's crossing the line, and I don't want to surround myself with people like that, so I'm not gonna go out of my way to be their best friend."
She concluded, "At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and no hard feelings, however, you knew -- and you kept her."
Shanae has been involved in drama for most of The Bachelor's currently-airing season.
After calling Elizabeth "fake" and "two-faced," Shanae went on to allege that Elizabeth was a "bully" and "a liar" and had created a "toxic" environment for her. Shanae therefore celebrated the moment when Clayton denied Elizabeth a rose and sent her home.
On Monday night's episode, Jill Chin claimed Shanae had been "tormenting" and "terrorizing" the house.
After hearing complaints from the other women, Clayton -- upset about Shanae's profanity and outburst with the football trophy -- suggested Shanae should apologize to the rest of the cast because he didn't want the women to be living in "a hostile environment."
Shanae, seemingly aware Clayton had been considering her elimination, decided to apologize to the girls and cry about how she was "truly sorry" and had been wrong and disrespectful to them.
But what appeared to be minutes later, Shanae bragged in an interview with producers about how she had put on an amazing emotional performance.
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"I'm not sorry, hoes, you mean-ass b-tches! I need an Oscar award for that performance. Fake it until you make it!" Shanae boasted and giggled. "I never thought I could act before but I'm f-cking good."
Shanae even laughed about how she had delivered a better performance than Meryl Streep.
"B-tches, I'm done. He's mine!... I'm this hot blonde bombshell, what else do I need to say?! Give me the Oscar, give me the Emmy, give me the Golden Globe and give me the f-cking rose!" Shanae shouted.
Clayton proceeded to give Shanae a rose and eliminate Sierra, Jill and Lyndsey, and then Monday night's episode ended on a cliffhanger with Clayton taking Shanae and Genevieve on a two-on-one date in Toronto, Canada so that he could get to the bottom of things.
Genevieve had been very vocal about her dislike of Shanae, and so Clayton planned to send one of the two women home by the end of the date.
"Shanae likes to push people to the limit and be cute, calm, and collected when it's all so phony and calculated," Mara claimed, adding that Shanae was a puppeteer.
"She's a roller coaster, she's dramatic, she's erratic, she's unnecessary. She's not wife material. She sucks!"
Clayton also said in his apology to Elizabeth last month that watching Season 26 back so far "hasn't been fun" and his actions "weren't always the best."
Clayton went on to promise The Bachelor fans that he's "learning" from his mistakes and hopes to come out of this season as "a better man."
In addition, Clayton reminded his followers that "mental health matters" and people should keep that in mind before hitting "send," which suggested people had been sending Clayton hate and criticism for his decisions.
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