The Bachelor star Matt James has addressed the Rachael Kirkconnell controversy in which the bachelorette has recently been accused of bullying and racist behavior in her past.
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Matt -- who eliminated the "mean girls" and "bullies" of his season without giving a thought to second chances -- was asked about the allegations against Rachael considering he admitted he was "falling in love" with the bachelorette on Monday night's The Bachelor episode.
"I have not spoken to anybody since the show ended, but I would say that you've got to be very careful about what you are doing on social media," Matt told Entertainment Tonight in a recent interview.
"I think a lot of times... you hear something on the Internet and [assume] it's fact. So I would just warn people to be careful about making accusations before someone has had a chance to speak on it. We saw how that happened with [Brittany Galvin] and [Anna Redman]."
Matt was referring to Anna's claim she had received messages from people in Chicago saying Brittany is an escort who sleeps with wealthy men for money. Anna spread the rumor like wildfire at The Bachelor resort, and Matt decided to eliminate her right away.
"Rumors are dark and they're nasty and they can ruin people's lives," Matt said.
"So I would give people the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully she will have her time to speak on that."
Matt noted "there's a lot of stuff going around about the women that were involved in the show."
"I would just give them a chance to kind of have their piece, whether that is someone who was gone Night 1 or someone who went home [Monday] night. Everyone has a story, and I would just be receptive to that," Matt explained.
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Rachael was recently accused of cultural appropriation and liking photos with offensive and racist content on Instagram, such as a friend standing in front of a house that had the Confederate flag.
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And earlier this month, a TikTok user named Maddy Bierster posted a video clip of Rachael and Matt talking on Night 1 at the cocktail party on Reddit and wrote over the image, "Girlieeee, remember when you bullied me in high school for liking black guys???"
Maddy also captioned her post on TikTok, "BECAUSE I REMEMBER."
Many fans reacted with shock and concern for Matt since The Bachelor star seemed to really like Rachael on the first night and figured she would go far in the season.
Maddy later insisted in videos on her TikTok she'd never lie about anything so serious and Rachael and her friend group in high school had "ridiculed" her for dating a boy of a different race. She suggested Rachael is hypocritical and needs to be held accountable for her actions.
Maddy also claimed she never received an apology from Rachael and would like one.
Rachael's mother Kim Kirkconnell fired back at the accusations and defended her daughter, according to screenshots obtained by the @bachelornation.scoop Instagram account.
Rachael's mother said Maddy made up her story for attention and Rachael never bullied someone for liking Black men.
Kim also insisted her family does not support racism of any kind and believes everyone should be treated fairly and with dignity, love and kindness.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
