We're used to seeing the ladies on
The Bachelor at each other's throats—sadly, that's built into the premiese of the show—but Monday night they put their differences aside for a segment of the "Women Tell All" special to support one another and address something they're all inundated with on the daily: online hate.Contestants on
The Bachelor and
Bachelorette series have always faced a barrage of negativity online. Sure, everyone has their favourite to win, and the producers have consistently done great work, especially this season, in creating drama in order to brew tension and arguments, but there is a difference between rooting for your number one and straight-up harassment, bullying, and hate. With it reaching a fever pitch in recent seasons, Chris Harrison did something very out of character for the show and addressed the obscene remarks outright. Former
Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay joined him in what proved to be a very emotional segment.
“I feel like you guys hear us talk about the hate that we receive, but you have no idea what it is,” Rachel said with a great deal of trepidation in her voice. “And the only way that I can actually make you feel it is for you to see it.”She didn’t waste any time in reading off some of the awful, disgraceful, outrageous and inhuman remarks that have landed in her DMs and her inbox. All the women from this season of
The Bachelor nodded their heads in agreement, acknowledging they have all received the same kinds of messages, while members of the live audience were clearly shocked and appalled. Rachel’s voice quivered as she continued to read out some of the more racist and vile tweets, and after that, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.“I'm, like, shaking as I'm reading this,” she said through tears, “because it's shocking; it's uncomfortable. I know it's uncomfortable for you to see. Just imagine how uncomfortable it is to get this in your comments and your DMs every day, every week, every month. And you guys, that's just a tip of the iceberg.”“Clearly, what we're talking about isn't criticism,” Chris Harrison added. “This is hate.”[video_embed id='1913001']RELATED: The next Bachelorette is 38-year-old Clare Crawley[/video_embed]He then turned back to the women to ask them to share their own unique stories, and what stood out was the fact that almost all of the women of colour, or those who identified as part of an ethnic minority, had the exact same story—they were abused, harassed, and stalked online simply for the colour of their skin and their ethnicity. It was a shocking reminder that this type of abuse is tenfold for women of colour.‘The Women Tell All’ specials are usually very dramatic because petty arguments and silly moments (like
Champagne-gate or the
Victoria P vs Alayah pageantry spat) are rehashed, but this time around, the women weren’t bickering or butting heads about superficial squabbles; they held each other’s hands, wiped away each other’s tears and supported one another. For a moment,
The Bachelor showed what true solidarity looks like, and it was mighty refreshing that they shone a spotlight on this very real issue that affects women on and off the screen.[video_embed id='1913171']BEFORE YOU GO: Tessa Virtue tells us how she’s celebrating International Women’s Day[/video_embed]
