Jenn Tran has shared how she's is facing racism ahead of her The Bachelorette season and reached out to former show star Michelle Young for advice and support.
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But putting herself out there and being in the spotlight means having to deal with trolls and haters.
"A lot of people wanted somebody else [to be the star], or they're wishing that I was 'American'... There's just a lot of people who want to have input on it," Jenn shared during a recent episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
"You just can't win. There are people who are like, 'She's too crazy,' or, 'She's too boring,' or, 'She wants to take shots.' God forbid I want to take a shot!"
The Bachelorette star potentially hinted at her ending when she continued to vent, "I didn't know that once you get engaged you can't take a shot -- or when you find love you can't take a shot! So it's crazy how many people have an opinion about it."
But Jenn said "in a weird way" all the negativity out there just validates that "there needs to be change" in this world.
"I lived my whole life having some people tell me, 'Racism doesn't exist. Asians don't have to deal with it. You're the better minority. Nobody cares,'" Jenn recalled.
"And to have these things said about me online, particularly about my race, it just validates the fact that there is so much hate in people's hearts still."
She added, "It's still such a prevalent thing in this day, that I'm happy to take on the brunt of it, if it means that I'm making a change for the people who are going to come after me."
Given it's a tough position to be in, however, Jenn said she reached out to Michelle, one of the few Black Bachelorettes in franchise history, for some words of wisdom.
"I really wanted a perspective from a person of color and just get to know what her experience was like and where to kind of go with it," Jenn told E! News.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"I know that being in the limelight, you get a lot of backlash for it and racism, specifically. And I wanted to know how she handled all that and whether she thought it was worth it in the end."
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Jenn revealed that Michelle was "really great" in their conversation and had offered her "a lot of good guidance" for her journey to find love.
"She was like, 'There are going to be haters out there, there's going to be racism out there, but know that you're doing it for a reason and be strong-willed,'" Jenn shared.
"We're both in the same mindset in that we both want to keep making change happen, and if we're the people who are spearheading that, then all the better."
When Jenn was announced as the new The Bachelorette star in March, she wrote on Instagram at the time that she was thrilled to represent the Asian community on television.
"Growing up I never got to see anyone who looked like me lead their own love story on TV. To be able to inspire a generation of people to be proud of their culture is something I'm so grateful for," Jenn gushed at the time.
Jenn noted how this experience is "so much bigger than" herself, and she added, "I am so incredibly excited for this crazy adventure to find my person and I can't wait for all of us to laugh and cry together."
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"I'm honestly really excited for everyone to just see it," Jenn gushed to Alex Cooper on her "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
Jenn recently teased of The Bachelorette's 21st season in an interview with Kaitlyn Bristowe at CMA Fest, "The ending of my season is also something that has never happened before."
Jenn declined to share details about her supposed never-before-seen outcome of The Bachelorette, but she pointed out how fans are going to be "shocked" by her ending.
The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer recently teased in one of Jenn's Instagram comments that calling her season "crazy" is "an understatement."
In a promo of Jenn's upcoming The Bachelorette season, Jenn boasts about how she's "going to fall in love" and is "going to do it my way."
She adds, "I feel more confident than ever. I feel like the main character in my own love story."
Earlier this year, Jenn spoke to Entertainment Tonight about how viewers are "not going to get" a polished version of herself when they tune in and watch The Bachelorette this summer.
"You're not going to get '[Meek] and Perfect Jenn.' You're going to get 'Crazy Jenn,' and that's the beautiful part of it," Jenn boasted of her approach to dating on The Bachelorette.
Jenn said viewers will witness her "fiery energy" and flirtatious nature.
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Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including her winner and runner-up.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
