'Bachelorette' Rachel Lindsay is 'extremely disappointed' with Hannah Brown's apology for using the N-word
Rachel Lindsay is setting the record straight on numerous conversations that she had with fellow Bachelor Nation star Hannah Brown after the Season 15 Bachelorette was caught using the N-word during an Instagram Live. Now, Lindsay explains why Brown’s apology was “extremely disappointing.”
It all began on May 16 when Brown, the 2018 Miss Alabama titleholder, was singing DaBaby’s “Rockstar” while live streaming to her 2.8 million Instagram followers when she used the racial slur and attempted to pass the blame onto her brother. The following afternoon, she posted an apology to her Instagram story, where she wrote, “I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better.” That same day, Lindsay, a fellow Bachelorette and the only black woman to lead the show, took to her own platform to discuss why Brown was wrong to use the word and even to critique the way that Brown apologized.
“When you’re bold enough to say the N-word on camera, on your platform … then you need to be bold enough to use your face on camera and apologize in the same way that you said the word,” Lindsay said to her own 889,000 followers in a video on May 17 that has since been saved to her IGTV. In an episode of former Bachelor Nick Viall’s podcast, Viall Files, which was released on Monday, Lindsay explained her response.
“I didn’t have a conversation, I had multiple conversations, over the phone, text and direct messages,” Lindsay said of her communication with Brown after the incident over a week prior. “When Hannah and I talked, she wanted to know what my thought was as to what she should do, she said, I wanna ask you. And she was very remorseful, she was very upset, she was embarrassed, she was admitting she was wrong. And she said she wanted to go on a [Instagram] Live and she was going to go first and then bring me on. Twice, she got off the phone with me to tell me, ‘I’m gonna go do it, I’m just gonna go get ready.’ Hours later, nothing.”
Lindsay went on to explain that the interaction was recurring and the hours-long conversations that she and Brown were having halted when Brown decided to go with a written statement. “The reason it disappointed me so much that Hannah decided to give a statement is because, quote her words, ‘a statement would be insincere.’ Hannah said that it felt icky to give a statement. And I believed her when she said it, and it was her team that was advising her to give a statement. And she said in her heart she didn’t feel it was that way and she felt that God had wanted her to use her platform for a bigger purpose and she was going to step up and do that. So to see her ultimately text me and say, ‘I’m gonna give a statement,’ was extremely disappointing because you yourself said that that was insincere, so why did you, therefore, decide to do an insincere action? I’m very confused by that.”
As a result of speaking out about the issue herself, Lindsay received criticism from people who believe she was “bullying” Brown or “trying to force her to do something.” Lindsay later said that she had a responsibility to discuss the topic at hand.
“I’m a black woman. It’s not about women supporting women, it’s about me representing myself as a black woman and it is a derogatory term that is used against to oppress black people. So how as being a black person do I not speak out about this?” she said. “I just feel like when you hear this history, you should feel so disgusted and dirty whether you hear me say the word, whether you’ve never said the word or you heard somebody say it on their [Instagram] Live. You shouldn’t be fighting against it, you shouldn’t be excusing it, you shouldn’t be giving someone a pass for it cause you know their heart. You should hold them accountable. If you see your brother, your sister, your friend doing something wrong, you hold them accountable for it so they don’t make the same mistake again. And you encourage them to grow from it and move on from it.”
Viall echoed Lindsay’s sentiment saying, “There is a responsibility that we have given this gift of an audience and a fan base, try to sometimes have tough conversations. No one likes to be throwing anybody under the bus. I still hope Hannah makes the most of this. But this approach is baffling, it’s confusing and every day, every moment that goes by just reads as more and more insincere.”
As of Tuesday evening, Brown has yet to publicly respond to Lindsay’s comments, nor those made by others in Bachelor Nation. Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to Brown’s rep for comment but has not yet received a response.
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