Victoria Larson is defending how she treated the other bachelorettes on Matt James' The Bachelor season amid criticism she behaved like a "mean girl" and "bully."
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"Honestly, it was all in good fun," Victoria, 28, said during a Tuesday appearance on Good Morning America.
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When Matt greeted five new arrivals on Monday night's episode, Victoria called newcomer Brittany Galvin "a slore" -- combining the offensive slurs, slut and whore -- and later teamed up with Anna Redman in accusing Brittany of being an escort.
Victoria also had a hand in convincing Matt to eliminate Marylynn Sienna, whom Victoria had dubbed "rude" and "toxic," and pushing Sarah Trott out the door. Victoria told Sarah that she was being calculative and manipulative, and the "queen" later referred to Sarah as "trash."
Victoria even snatched the crown right off newcomer Catalina Morales Gomez's head after Catalina introduced herself to Matt for the first time as the former Miss Puerto Rico Universe.
"Snatching the crown was not my best moment looking back, but I meant it all in good fun," Victoria said.
Victoria insisted on GMA her words were not as harsh as they came across on television.
"If my words or actions hurt anyone, like, I sincerely apologize and I'll do better and hold myself accountable. I'm not a bully. I'm really not," Victoria insisted.
But Victoria also admitted she doesn't regret all the name-calling, which included slams like "b-tch" and "slut."
"[The girls] knew me and knew my heart and knew that I never really have ill intent. So I think they viewed it differently just because they know me," Victoria shared.
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Because of Victoria's portrayal on The Bachelor, she has apparently received hate messages and even death threats.
"I anticipated being well-received, so to get, like, the bullying messages and the hate mail and the death threats, [I] wasn't really prepared for that at all," Victoria confessed. "100 percent, it was shocking."
Victoria feels viewers unfortunately only got to see one side of her.
"I don't think my kindness really got to show through and I really do have a good heart. I actually became friends with one of the new girls," Victoria said.
When asked whether Catalina was the "new girl" whom Victoria had befriended, Victoria joked, "There was one queen only."
ABC executive Robert Mills discussed Victoria's "villain" role on the show in a Monday interview with Variety.
"Before, we've had 'shades of grey' villains, where you understand them more and there is maybe more sympathy for why they would do certain things. This is more black-and-white in that people just absolutely hated her. I totally get why that could be a turnoff to some people," Rob explained.
"I'm not saying the show is made purely to stir up drama, but certainly a strong personality like [Victoria] is good. And look, Matt has said that is something that he is attracted to -- a woman who is her own woman and who is strong-willed -- so you can't argue that Victoria is not that."
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In fact, Matt gushed about Victoria during a recent appearance on The Bachelorette alums Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin's Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.
The conversation began when Rachel said she believes Victoria was trying to be like The Bachelor's Season 21 villain Corinne Olympios but "failed miserably."
"If you're going to be a villain, you've got to be funny! Do you know what I'm saying?!" Rachel asked Matt.
"Victoria is hilarious!" Matt exclaimed.
"What? We haven't seen it yet," Rachel responded.
"Oh my gosh, Rachel, she is one of the wittiest people I have ever met!" Matt gushed.
"Really?!" Rachel asked in disbelief. "We haven't seen it, so that's a good scoop."
Matt explained, "Victoria, she is unapologetically herself, like, she's the quickest."
"You'll say something and she's got something [to say back] and then she's out," The Bachelor star elaborated. "And I'm like, 'What?!' What did you just say?"
Victoria made a splash at The Bachelor resort almost immediately when she pointed out that she wasn't happy for Bri Springs, who received the first one-on-one date with Matt.
"I'm not tail-spinning, I'm the only one that's being real! Girls that are happy for Bri are all fake as sh-t. The reality of the situation is that we're all here to date Matt; we're not here to be in a sorority," Victoria announced to the group.
Victoria expressed repeatedly how she's "authentic and real," and she made Marylynn and Sarah out to be the enemies.
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Sarah, who was feeling ostracized from the group as well as homesick at the time, decided to quit the show, but not before she shared with Matt how some of the bachelorettes had been "malicious and cruel" to her.
Monday night's episode ended with Katie Thurston asking Matt to address all the drama and rumors circulating in the house considering an "escort" accusation has the potential to ruin a girl's reputation and career.
"If someone thinks they're going to bully their way to my heart, that's not how it works... and I need to get to the bottom of it," Matt said, as the episode ended on a cliffhanger.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
