'The Bachelorette' star Jenn Tran: Sam McKinney needs to "take responsibility"

The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran has admitted Sam McKinney should "take responsibility" for the controversial things he had said and done while filming her season.


The Bachelorette fans have been cringing over Sam M.'s aggressive behavior on the show, including when he had made Jenn visibly uncomfortable during their one-on-one date at the Auckland Sky Tower in New Zealand.

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In response to backlash and criticism he's a "bully" and "really bad person," Sam recently posted two emojis, a mirror and smoke, via Instagram to indicate that things may not be what they seem.

And Sam's family has also been blowing up social media with fiery messages directed at The Bachelorette producers for allegedly creating a false narrative about Sam and intentionally giving him a bad edit.


"I've seen that, and what I will say is -- listen, nobody can put words in your mouth," Jenn, 26, said during an August 2 appearance on the "Love to See It" podcast.

Jenn apparently believes that what viewers watch on TV is what really happened, even if the footage is unflattering.

"As much as a TV edit [can do], no one can give you a villain edit in some way, which is what people are claiming," Jenn explained.

"You have to own your words because no one is putting words in your mouth. You are the person that's saying those things."

She therefore concluded, "And so, what I will say is that, sometimes you've just got to take responsibility for the things that are coming out of your mouth."


During a recent appearance on "The Viall Files," Jenn shared how Sam was "very different with the guys" than he was with her.

And when asked if Sam's behavior during filming was as aggressive as it has appeared on the show, Jenn responded, "I will say, in the moment, it was exactly how it was portrayed [on The Bachelorette]."

Sam received Jenn's First Impression Rose during The Bachelorette's July 8 premiere, but then he started to become a villain due to his feuding with Devin Strader.

Sam joined forces with Thomas Nguyen and called Devin "an ankle-biting dog" and "a bully," but ABC took a jab at Sam by writing in an onscreen graphic that Sam needed to look up the definition of the word "bully" in the dictionary.

Sam also gave Jenn an awkward lap dance that she didn't seem to want after the striptease group date, and then he was shown pressuring Jenn to jump off a sky tower in New Zealand when she was completely frozen with fear and cried about not wanting to do the activity.


As Sam laughed and made light of the situation, Jenn accused Sam of not listening to her needs and failing to read her emotions. She was admittedly frustrated with and pissed off at the bachelor.

"He's not the most empathetic person," Jenn said on the "Love to See It" podcast.

"That's kind of the way I grew up, and that's why I was more okay with it than most people. Well, I wasn't okay with it; I was pretty pissed off," Jenn acknowledged.

"However, that's not what I want in a partner. I don't want a partner that's just going to tell me to do something and not be there for me and emotionally support me."

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Jenn therefore said watching that one-on-one date back on The Bachelorette was "tough."

"Because that's not the message I want people to be watching, like, little girls looking up to me. That's not what you should be allowing your partner to do," Jenn noted, before adding how she had forgiven him "way too quickly" and needs to work on giving men a mile when they only give her an inch.

Sam also hasn't been portrayed as the brightest bulb in Jenn's group of men given he seemed to repeat the same cliche phrases such as, "Keep the main thing, the main thing."

While Sam hasn't stood up for himself on social media, presumably due to contractual obligations with ABC, his family has been doing the talking for him.

"@bacheloretteabc you can silence your contestants, but you can't silence me #freespeech #letstellthetruth," Sam's sister Olivia McKinney recently wrote via Instagram Stories.


Sam's other sister Hannah McKinney vented, "Let's see all the footage @bacheloretteabc.... I'm waiting."

Many of the angry messages Sam's family has written were uploaded via screenshots on Reddit.

One fan wrote to Hannah, "You don't have to defend your brother so hard. The viewers can see Sam's actions or hear the words he speaks. Your brother acts and speaks like a BULLY. He can learn from his mistakes and BECOME A BETTER MAN."

Hannah replied, "Lol he isn't a bully and never has been. Again, they cut out so much that you aren't getting the true context [of] everything that is happening. I will defend my brother day in and day out... especially when they are being portrayed as somebody they're not."

Sam's brother Seth McKinney got in on the action and wrote, "If only they showed footage of other people being the bully and Sam and Thomas actually being good guys."

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But it happened to be Sam's parents who penned the most passionate and angry messages on Facebook.

Sam's mother, Susan McKinney, argued, "There is nothing real about 'reality' tv. To destroy someone's character and manipulate the truth through editing is wrong on so many levels... There are several spoilers out there for who [Jenn] chooses in the end."

"Sam is a good guy regardless of how he is betrayed," she continued, "and I will no longer sit idly by and not speak up. Hey The Bachelorette it's called free speech. At least mine is honest, which is more than they can say."

And Sam's father, Jeff McKinney, revealed that Sam has been "a complete wreck" over how he's been portrayed on The Bachelorette's 21st season.

"Sam has (mostly) been the favorite with the first impression rose, etc. The spoiler was revealed and (in my opinion) the network had to paint Sam as this horrendous guy in order for Jenn not to look like a complete idiot," Jeff explained.

"Now I know why the network offers free counseling for 1 year after the show."


Jeff claimed Sam's words and phrases were cut and pasted to create a narrative The Bachelorette wanted to run with.

"Can't change what he said and how he said it, but they can change the scene, script and context and totally change the delivery. That's how I feel. #StandWithSamM," Jeff concluded.

But Sam may have redeemed himself in some viewers' eyes on The Bachelorette's fifth episode that aired on August 5.

Sam comforted Jenn when she was feeling unworthy of love, and he assured the Bachelorette that all of the guys left -- even his enemy Devin -- viewed her as their future wife.

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Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how the rest of Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including who Jenn picks as her winner and runner-up.


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski