The Bachelorette star Clare Crawley's good friend Michelle Money insists Clare didn't ignore her cast of bachelors in pursuit of Dale Moss and is a victim of unflattering editing on Season 16.
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RELATED LINK: BACHELORETTE SPOILERS: WHAT HAPPENS ON CLARE CRAWLEY'S 'THE BACHELORETTE' SEASON? (SPOILERS)
"I feel like production is totally doing her dirty," Michelle admitted.
"It is just unbelievable to me that they have these images of filming [Clare] behind a bush talking to a producer. Those conversations can be so taken out of context, and the way they've shown these little clips of her talking to producers in the back room, like, [Clare saying], 'Speed this up' -- First of all, Clare spent an equal amount of time with every single one of those guys."
"And that's what frustrating," she added, "you don't get to see the whole story."
As The Bachelorette fans saw on Tuesday night's episode, Clare referred to Dale as her "fiance" when she was speaking to producers behind-the-scenes and assumed she wasn't being filmed.
Calling a man her "fiance" when a cast of guys were investing their time and energy into Clare less than two weeks into filming came across rude and disrespectful to many viewers.
Clare also told the cameras that she was falling in love with Dale, and she teased this may be "the shortest season ever" when confiding in former The Bachelorette star DeAnna Pappas, which suggested Clare just wanted to get the season over with.
Because Clare appeared to be so wrapped up in her feelings for Dale, she seemingly ignored the rest of her guys and tried to rush conversations with them.
"The way that they're editing this storyline is so out of context that it's just so frustrating as her friend to sit by [and watch]. It's like [production] has no moral compass. It's unbelievable!" Michelle vented to Us.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
She added, "Do you guys really, honestly think she wasn't talking about any other guy? I mean, you can take anyone's life, film it for an entire day, and take little snippets. We all know this and we've all seen the show enough to know there is editing involved."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWClare recently "liked" multiple tweets from fans speculating production had forced her off the show and always planned to replace her with Tayshia Adams.
The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison, however, told Entertainment Tonight that Clare was in "complete control" of her season and was "certainly not" pushed out of her role as leading lady because she had made her own decisions.
But Michelle has apparently taken Clare's side in this little debate.
"It feels to me like [production] had a plan and they were executing the plan... and I'm not saying it's a bad plan. Clare obviously fell in love with Dale really quickly, but the irony is that Tayshia had to have come in and quarantined before even filming," Michelle reasoned.
"So they have [Tayshia] already on standby quarantining before they even know what's going on with Clare and Dale."
Michelle continued, "So it just feels like, 'What was going on behind the scenes that Clare had no idea was going on that was completely manipulated and produced?' And that's what pisses me off about this show."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Michelle said she believes producers "100 percent" had Tayshia ready as a backup plan in case Clare couldn't feign interest in her group of guys.
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Michelle described Clare as "someone who is very clear and knows her boundaries and knows what she wants, which is what makes her a really great candidate for the role."
"But I think, as we're seeing, when you cast someone like that, it's not the same show! It's just not," Michelle explained, adding that Clare "isn't playing games" or trying to "lead anyone one."
ABC executive Robert Mills said on a recent episode of The Viall Files podcast producers started thinking about replacing Clare after the roast group date in which Clare focused most of her conversations with the men on their jokes about Dale and then ended up giving herself a rose at the end of the night.
Michelle, who was a villain when she appeared on Brad Womack's season of The Bachelor in 2011, noted many contestants have received bad edits over the years.
"It's the price you pay for going on the show and the positives always, always outweigh the negatives," Michelle said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
But Clare is "really struggling" with the criticism, according to Money, and "having a hard time."
"[But] this is what's amazing about Clare. She's like, 'All these people that are giving me hate, I just want to help them heal. I want to help them.'... There's been some hate and there's been some negativity [but] Clare just wants to show up and help lift everyone up," Michelle shared.
She added, "It's the hard times in life that make us really strong. And that's one thing Clare knows for sure, so she's going to come out of this better than ever."
Whether Clare was forced off The Bachelorette mid-season by producers or voluntarily ended her journey prematurely -- maybe because the men quit on her, based on the end of Tuesday night's episode -- she is now reportedly engaged to Dale, and recent reports claim the pair are still in love.
Clare recently told People "there is so much that happens that people don't even know."
"I'm a woman who really listens to my gut. And it didn't lead me astray," she told the magazine.
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Rob Mills also confirmed on The Viall Files podcast that Tayshia will make her first appearance on the show next week as Clare's Bachelorette replacement.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
