As you may know, I usually love documenting the messy behavior of our favorite (and least favorite) Bachelor alums. From Amanda Stanton maybe stealing a Chanel bag to TikToks that make me want to die, it’s usually a fun ride. But over the weekend, things went from fun to depressing real quick. On Saturday, Hannah Brown said the N-word on Instagram live, and the resulting fallout has been anything but fun to watch.
On the IG live, Hannah was trying to learn the TikTok dance to DaBaby’s song “Rockstar,” and she said some of the lyrics that happened to include that word. When people on the live first called her out, she said she was sorry, but also that she didn’t think she said it, and she was also laughing the whole time. She later said she would “never use that word”, and that “y’all can think I said whatever I did or think I’m something I’m not, but I’m not that.” Yikes. On Sunday, she issued more of an actual apology, but the whole thing has just left an awful taste in my mouth.
Aside from all the reasons why this is obviously not okay, it’s been interesting to see which members of Bachelor Nation have spoken out publicly. While many have sadly said nothing, at least there are some people in this weird world who have their heads on straight. Here are the most notable reactions.
Rachel Lindsay
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Rachel Lindsay has got to be one of smartest, most well-spoken people in Bachelor Nation, and she also happens to be the only black lead in the history of the show. With that in mind, I was really interested to hear what she had to say about this situation. In an Instagram Live video, she said she was personally offended, but rather than call Hannah out, she reached out to her directly. Rachel asked Hannah to address her comments on video, saying, “When you’re bold enough to say the N-word on your platform… you need to be bold enough to use your face, on camera, and apologize in the same way that you said the word.”
Understandably, Rachel was disappointed and hurt when Hannah only apologized through a text post on Instagram stories. This may seem like a small thing, but there’s something important about showing your face and admitting you were wrong. In her video, Rachel said she’s “tired of feeling like I have to be the one to speak,” and I totally get it. It’s not fair for pressure to be placed on her to react in these situations, but she did an excellent job of communicating her feelings.
Bekah Martinez
Bekah was one of the first people in Bachelor Nation to publicly comment on what happened, and she had a lot to say throughout the day on Sunday. First, she called Hannah out (without naming her) in a couple of stories, urging that we need to do a better job of holding people accountable. She also addressed the people who apparently think it doesn’t count when you say the word in a song, which I didn’t realize was something people still legitimately thought in 2020.
In a subsequent video, Bekah acknowledged that she’s not perfect either, and that she’s worked hard to “unlearn” the ignorance that she grew up with. She says that this process was “difficult and uncomfortable,” but that it’s disappointing to see others not putting in that work and acknowledging their mistakes.
Then, later in the day, she hopped back on stories, saying that she wishes she removed the “call out” part of her initial stories, and instead focused on the educational aspect. That’s all well and good, but she has no reason to apologize. Hannah f*cked up, and there’s no reason people need to tiptoe around holding her accountable.
Mike Johnson
In an Instagram story on Sunday night, Mike said that he received DMs calling him out for not addressing the situation sooner, accusing him of “not defending women of color.” While he said he hadn’t seen the video yet, he made his thoughts clear: “she shouldn’t have said the N-word, it’s pretty damn simple.” He then asked people not to come for him for not keeping up with every little thing that happens in Bachelor Nation. Honestly, relatable.
Tyler Cameron
If I’m being honest, Tyler Cameron’s responses to this whole thing have felt a little wishy-washy. In an Instagram story, he said that Rachel Lindsay “hit the nail on the head,” and that “we have a long ways to go on this issue.” That’s certainly true, but then he changed gears to sort of defending Hannah. Uh, what?
He said, “This is not about dragging HB. This is about using your platform for reasons like this. So we can educate those who don’t get it. This is bigger than HB. This is a societal problem.” Like, yes, it is definitely a societal problem, but it’s also an HB problem. No one should be sending Hannah threats or anything, but it’s absolutely justified for people to be hurt and angry, and to call her out for what she did.
In a response to a DM, Tyler also took kind of an odd stance: “In these moments you have the opportunity to burry someone or lift them up. We need to lift HB up from this. She is learning and growing just like every single one of us. Love rids hate. Hate only makes more hate. Let’s learn and lift each other up with love.” Whatever Tyler is smoking, I’d like some. Of course, it’s important to educate and grow and love and all that sh*t, but it’s been one day. People are still mad, which is a completely valid response, because Hannah used a racial slur with centuries of hate-filled baggage attached to it, and nobody should be dismissing those feelings of anger and hurt so quickly. A quick glance through Instagram comments will show that the majority of the people who are rushing to forgive her are not the ones who have truly felt the damage that this word can cause (TL;DR: they’re white). And not only did Hannah use the word, but her initial response was so flippant, you’d think it was no big deal. Of course I hope she grows and learns and takes meaningful actions to do better in the future, but that doesn’t mean we should give her a free pass because “everyone makes mistakes.”
Nick Viall
Nick Viall was just trying to do a normal Q&A on Sunday, but naturally a ton of people wanted his thoughts on the Hannah controversy. He kept it simple, saying “There is no excuse. Period. Super sad and disappointing to see.” Honestly, that’s about all I need from someone like Nick. I actually really like that he directed people to Rachel’s Instagram Live, rather than trying to make this about him sharing his own thoughts.
UPDATE: Another day has passed, and thankfully, more people from Bachelor Nation have spoken out about the whole situation with Hannah Brown.
Diggy Moreland
I had no idea what was going on until last night, & didnt get the full story/see the video until this morning.
Watching her get quiet when she approached the N-word in the lyrics tells me she knew she shouldnt have said it. Ive heard more sincere apologies from a box of cereal. https://t.co/g0rNXsOcx0
— Diggy Moreland (@diggymoreland) May 18, 2020
I love Diggy so much. He keeps it real 100% of the time, and he has no time for any of this nonsense. He made a good observation about how Hannah seemed reluctant to say the word in the first place. Others have also pointed out that she specifically didn’t say the F-word in the same song. Interesting, for sure. But yeah, can’t argue with Diggy’s opinion on her apology.
Taylor Nolan
Taylor Nolan made a post with a caption that called on white people, and especially those in Bachelor Nation, to take this opportunity to be true allies to people of color. She writes that how black people put in “an exhausting amount of emotional labor to educate white people on matters of race,” but that white people often aren’t receptive to what they hear. Particularly in Bachelor Nation, this is an important moment, and it’s telling who has spoken up, and who has remained quiet.
Danielle Maltby
Danielle Maltby, from Nick Viall’s season, put a couple great posts on her Instagram story. She echoes Taylor’s post, saying that “It is not the job of black women to educate white people.” She also addresses all the people who think that singing it in a song is okay, or that it’s okay because black people say it all the time. Those are terrible excuses, and Danielle is having none of it.
Cassie Randolph
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really impressed by Cassie. Right off the bat, she says that saying the N-word is never okay, and acknowledges that her feelings don’t matter here. She cites the black women in Bachelor Nation who have already spoken on the topic, and says that we can all learn from this. While Tyler Cameron seemed too quick to forgive, Cassie really hit the right note of learning and growing, without acting like nothing bad happened in the first place.
It’s great that more people have spoken out in the last couple days, but there are still so many who have kept quiet. Chris Harrison, care to comment? No? Cool. I guess this shouldn’t be too surprising, but it’s still disappointing.
Images: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for PUMA; bachelorteaspill, Bekah, tylerjcameron3, nickviall, taymocha, dmmaltby, cassierandolph / Instagram; diggymoreland / Twitter
To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of The Bachelor, but I really do love all the chaos that comes along with show. I can’t sit through three hours of limo introductions on a Monday night, but I can sure as hell read 50 Reddit threads about whose Instagram behavior is messy AF. It’s called research. Yesterday, I broke down all the crazy details about one of this season’s frontrunners, Hannah Ann, but today we’re looking into someone whom Peter sent home on night one: Maurissa Gunn.
Maurissa actually got a lot of attention on Monday night’s episode, which is why a lot of people were surprised that she didn’t stick around. But homegirl clearly had her eyes on a different, perhaps better prize: Mike Johnson. Pretty much everyone besides the conservative midwestern moms were mad when ABC passed over Mike for this season of The Bachelor, and apparently Maurissa was in the same boat. Back in November, after her brief time filming the show, she was allegedly spotted having dinner with Mike in Atlanta, which is possibly the best news I’ve ever heard. I actually gasped when I saw this photo.
Maurissa won in the end #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/XKlApYZMdj
— #JusticeForMaurissa (@decidedtostan) January 7, 2020
This picture might be an exercise in confirmation bias, because these could literally be any two people in the world. However, we were sent this picture through someone who’s a few degrees of separation from Maurissa, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s legit.
Wow, so much to process. I guess Mike and Demi Lovato aren’t hanging out anymore, but we already knew that. Demi was actually dating another guy, Austin Wilson, for most of the fall, before they broke up in December. We only have confirmation that she and Mike hung out a couple of times, so there was probably never anything serious going on. No word on whether she and Mike have reconnected post-breakup, but for now I’ll assume that’s a no.
In the meantime, Mike has been living his life, being generally adorable, and posting Instagram ads like this one, which makes me want to slide into his DMs right now:
This man can sell me a teeth whitening system any day of the week. If every influencer’s sponsored posts looked like this, I would be a lot more likely to actually buy any of the sh*t they’re shilling. But let’s get back to Maurissa. Back in September, ABC gave us a first look at the contestants on this season, and they started filming that same week. Obviously, we now know that Maurissa’s time in the house was brief, but she was determined to get the most out of her Bachelor experience.
According to an Instagram post, she was seen out with Mike in Atlanta in November, roughly two months after she got eliminated from the show, and I need to know how this came about. Did she not realize that Mike wasn’t the Bachelor until she got out of the limo? Did she slide into his DMs after she got eliminated? Did he see her DMV-looking photo on the Bachelor Facebook page and slide into hers? Did he just happen to be in Atlanta, or did he fly there to see her? Do they have mutual friends? Did they already know each other, à la Hannah Ann and Caelynn? Is she just trying to get Mike on reserve for Paradise? I have many questions, but sadly, few answers.
Other than that one photo of them at dinner together, there’s little evidence that anything else happened between them. Maurissa follows Mike on Instagram, but Mike doesn’t follow her back. I’m tempted to say that this is because men are trash, but it might just mean that they don’t actually really know each other. Either way, I doubt they’re in some kind of secret relationship.
Actually, based on her decent amount of screen time and this extra AF Instagram caption, I’d say it’s more likely that she has her sights set on a Bachelor in Paradise appearance this summer. While getting sent home the first night isn’t ideal for her Paradise chances, she seems to have made a positive impression in her brief time on the show. Who knows, she could be the next Grocery Store Joe.
Right now, Maurissa only has 15K followers on Instagram, so she has a lot of work to do if she wants to actually be a memorable figure in Bachelor Nation, but her date with Mike has definitely made me 150% more invested in whatever she has going on. You don’t need to follow her every move or anything, but don’t be all like “who??” when she gets announced for the Paradise cast. She’s one to watch, I’m calling it now. But also, Mike, if you’re reading this, just remember that my DMs are incredibly open.
Images: ABC; decidedtostan / Twitter; mikejohnson1_, maurissagunn / Instagram
Summer 2019 will be remembered for many reasons. It was hot girl summer. It was the summer we discovered that when you play the Game of Thrones, you drink Starbucks or you die. We took our horse to the Old Town Road. And of course, we couldn’t turn on our televisions without hearing about Stagecoach. Stagecoach. Stagecoach. Stagecoach. Annoyed yet? Exactly. By now, anyone with a TV and moderate pop culture knowledge, as well as those of us that were chained to our couches for four hours a week, seven weeks in a row *raises hand* have the word Stagecoach etched into the back of our eyelids. We see Blake’s haircut in our nightmares. And now, we get to do it all over again! That’s right, Stagecoach just announced their 2020 lineup, and that sound you hear is hundreds of former Bachelor cast members finally clicking order on the “authentic cowboy hat” they had saved in their Revolve cart for weeks. We know that last year Stagecoach was a fountain of wealth for Blake, but who will get themselves into sexual pickle this year? Read on for our predictions!
Blake Horstmann and Caitlin Clemmens
Blake might have been publicly shamed for his behavior at Stagecoach last year, but that doesn’t mean he won’t return to the scene of the crime to revel in his former glory. Mindhunter reminded me that serial killers do that, so I think it’s pretty fair to assume that a serial booty-caller would do it as well. Here’s my prediction for Blake: While he’s remembering his former conquests, he will run into Caitlin Clemmens, who he dumped in Paradise to give Kristina a “friend rose.” He’ll realize he never slept with her at last year’s Stagecoach. He’ll apologize. He’ll cry. He’ll mention that time his mom was sleeping with his coach. And bam! Just like that, they’ll sleep together. Then he’ll block her on Instagram and start DM’ing her friends. You deserved better, Caitlin! And I’m not just saying that because we have the same name!
Amanda Stanton and Morgan Wallen
Hear me out. Morgan Wallen is one of the acts performing on night one. Sure, he has a mullet, but he’s single and I don’t hate his music, which I have heard live at a Florida Georgia Line concert with my mother and her friends (Don’t ask. Okay, fine, ask, but that story is for another time). Amanda’s BFF Lauren Bushnell is engaged to another country singer, Chris Lane, and since Lauren and Amanda are basically morphing into the same person, why not also date men who are virtually interchangeable? Plus, Morgan’s on the rise, and Amanda might need someone with ~influence~ to get her out of all that legal trouble, am I right?
Derek Peth and Kirpa Sudick
Poor Derek. He’s never going to be the Bachelor. Demi dumped him and then got engaged to someone else. He got in a screaming match at a wedding before anyone was even drunk. It was a rough summer for our favorite Jim Halpert lookalike. But, as JPJ aggressively pointed out, Derek has a podcast, and what better way to promote said podcast than by being at Stagecoach? In any case, Derek deserves love. I’d love to see Derek with Kirpa from Colton’s season. She’s gorgeous, and she’s funny, and she didn’t get half the attention I feel she deserved. That chin injury was solid gold. And based on the fact that Derek and Demi got along so well, I like to think that he’d be into another funny girl. Do it, guys!! Make me proud!
Mike Johnson and Becca Tilley
^^It’s alarming how much all these pictures look alike
Mike Johnson continues to shoot his shot with the hottest celebrities, and I think the sooner he realizes that only a select few celebrities watch The Bachelorette and know who he is, the better. When that day comes, I think he’ll settle down and find himself a nice Bachelor woman, and I’m betting it will be Becca Tilley. Of the still-single Bachelor alums, she is one of the most famous. Plus, she’s just launched her own clothing line, and she’s hot. I only want good things for Mike, and if that can’t be eternal happiness with me, I guess I’m cool with him settling for Becca.
Jed Wyatt and Kristina Schulman
^^Never gonna be Stagecoach, pal
PLOT TWIST!!! Jed shows up to Stagecoach in a desperate ploy to get attention, and torments serenades all the women walking in to the tune of “I wanna be your Mr. Right.” Only Kristina falls for it.
And those are my predictions! What do you think will happen at Stagecoach 2020? Will people find a more original picture location? Will we have little Bachelor Nation offspring running around nine months later? Will cast members get hit with more lawsuits? Only time will tell!
Images: cclemmentine, amanda_stanton, kirpasudick, beccatilley, jedwyatt/Instagram
While a lot of us (Sweetest Betch You’ll Ever Meet and It’s Britney, Betch) are saying a prayer of thanks that Mike Fleiss has finally granted us reprieve from six hours of reality television every week, others (me, Brett Vergara) are still reeling from the revelation that Peter will be the next Bachelor. Now, don’t get me wrong, on any other season, Peter would have been a great choice. I’m glad they didn’t pull some bullsh*t and revive some random dude from the dead (or, in Bachelor terms, five years ago). And, to be clear, Peter is a fine choice for Bachelor. He made it to the top three on Hannah’s season, and he seems like a perfectly nice guy. But notice the lack of enthusiasm here? That’s because I, like many people, were hoping against all hope that this would be the year that ABC would finally do something different. That they’d choose a Bachelor who wasn’t the human incarnation of mayonnaise on Wonder Bread. And this time, it actually seemed likely! I was fighting a losing battle last year, hoping they’d choose Wills for Bachelor. But this year, we had Mike Johnson. We had Mike’s smile. We had Mike calling women queens. It seemed that our dreams of having a diverse Bachelor may finally become reality. And then they didn’t. Now, Mike Johnson is finally speaking out about getting passed over for the Bachelor gig, on Bachelor Happy Hour with Rachel & Ali, Rachel Lindsay and Ali Fedotowsky’s podcast.
Rachel first asks Mike if he was, in fact, in talks to be the next Bachelor, or if we all just wildly projected. He answered, “I was 100% in talks to be the next Bachelor.” So that settles that—ABC was considering switching it up, and ultimately decided not to. I think I speak for all of us when I say: Y tho???
He added, “people probably didn’t think I was considered to be the Bachelor because I was trying to be so respectful of the crew at Bachelor world and I didn’t want to speak about it.” He then explained that Peter didn’t do interviews after The Bachelorette, so he didn’t have to answer questions about being the next Bachelor all the time. Mike then goes on to say that he definitely wanted the gig. “I 100% wanted to be the Bachelor,” he said. “Reasons being: One, I do want to find a wife. Two, it was bigger than me and I wanted to represent for all people of color. And then, also, talking about people of color, they need to have an Asian Bachelor, they need to have an Indian Bachelor. They need to have other people outside of just black and white. And so I want to speak on that as well.” Ugh, I stan a woke king. Remind me why they didn’t choose this guy again?! This is a crime against humanity.
So Mike affirms that he definitely did audition to be the Bachelor, and he wanted it, but he ultimately wasn’t chosen. And he kind of found out in the crappiest way possible: on TV, like the rest of us. “I found out in the trailers, before you do on the Bachelor in Paradise reunion,” he said. Damn, they couldn’t have given him a phone call? He admitted, “When I first found out, I’m not gonna lie, I was sad. I was annoyed when I very first found out. But then by the end of the night, I wasn’t annoyed no more because I was appreciative and thankful that they told me no right then and there because now I could focus on myself and I’m just blessed because I know I’m gonna find my wife and find my claim.” Well, that’s a lot more graceful than I would be. Personally I would have probably followed through on my many threats to burn down ABC. One of these days, I’m going to do it for real!!
Obviously, Mike had some opinions on why they chose Peter instead—but they are annoyingly vague. He said, “ultimately, it just came down to, they chose the right person for what they want.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?? Is “what they want” to placate middle America types who can’t handle seeing a non-white person on their television? Please, I need more information.
But we all know now that you can’t always get what you want (if what you want is diversity in Bachelor Nation). And now it doesn’t really matter, because Mike is seeing Demi Lovato. And of course Rachel asked about it (doing the Lord’s work). He admitted he and Demi have met in person “more than one time”. What does that mean!! Stop being coy! The people demand it.
He gushed over Demi, saying, “I think she’s amazing. She’s incredibly humble.” He added, “When Demi and I are together, it’s laughter and we talk about real sh*t. Like, she’s a down-to-earth woman and I respect it so much. And she’s just a really humble, really cool, really fun, down-to-earth person.”
Cool, cool, cool. I don’t know why I’m crying in the club at my desk right now. Next, Rachel asked what we’ve all been thinking ever since Mike posted that thirsty comment on Demi’s Insta: “What is the status of your relationship with Demi Lovato?” Here’s what Mike said:
“My status of the relationship with Demi and I are that we are two people exploring each other.”
Oooookayyyy, seriously? “Two people exploring each other” sounds like what you’d say about the person who taught you how to give a blow job as a teenager at summer camp. But, okay fine, it makes sense that Mike wouldn’t say he and Demi dating or anything, considering it’s been, like, two weeks since they have been in contact (that we know of).
SO this interview basically reaffirmed to me that Mike would have been a great Bachelor, but that we do not deserve him. And Peter will be cool I guess. It could have been worse—they could have chosen Blake. Listen to the full interview with Mike Johnson here.
If you’re even mildly caught up on what goes on in Bachelor Nation, then you probably know that the latest trend is Bachelorette rejects hooking up with famous women. Wells and Sarah Hyland are engaged, Gigi and Tyler seem to be getting more and more serious, and now we have confirmation that Mike Johnson and Demi Lovato are hanging out. This is not a drill.
It’s too soon to know if this is going to be a serious relationship or just two hot people having a good time, but either way, I need to know everything ASAP. Here’s a timeline of what we know about Mike and Demi’s relationship so far, because it’s been quite the journey since earlier this summer.
June-July: Hannah’s Season
Demi Lovato wasted no time making her crush on Mike known to the world. She posted often about watching Hannah’s season of The Bachelorette, and singled Mike out as her favorite guy. Obviously things didn’t work out with Mike and Hannah, which is for the best as far as Demi is concerned.
August 19th: Mike’s Denial
A few weeks after Hannah’s season finished airing, Mike was still playing it cool about any potential involvement with Demi Lovato. On August 19th, he told People TV “We have not connected and we have not exchanged any freaky texts at all.” Boooooo. But like I said previously, because of Mike’s casting on Bachelor In Paradise, he really couldn’t have said anything at the time. We’ll probably never know if he was telling the truth about the lack of freaky texts, but given more recent events, it really doesn’t matter now.
September 5th: Flirting In The Comments
A couple weeks ago, Demi Lovato set the internet on fire when she posted an absolutely stunning picture with a caption about facing her fear of posting unedited photos. She got dozens of positive comments from celebrities, but the most important one was a thirsty little message from Mr. Mike Johnson himself. His comment was already amazing, but then DEMI RESPONDED.
After a summer of casually shipping them and wondering if anything might happen, this was the first time it started to feel real. There’s a big difference between Demi rooting for Mike on a reality show and her responding to his flirty comment on her picture. She has like 75 million followers, so she’s not just shouting out people at random.
September 13th: Dinner Date
After the IG comments, Mike and Demi low-key stayed on our radar, but there were other important things happening in the world. I wasn’t going to hold my breath for them to be seen in public together, but then IT HAPPENED. On Friday night, the dream was realized when Mike and Demi were spotted getting dinner together at LaScala in Beverly Hills.
I first got this information from a firsthand source in a private Facebook group, but I wasn’t allowed to break it because it’s against the rules of the group. But it wasn’t long before the information spread, and it was reported by every tabloid possible. Mike and Demi arrived together through a back entrance, stayed for a couple hours, and Demi was laughing the whole time. I don’t know for sure, but this doesn’t sound like the first time they were meeting.
September 14th: Sources Say
The day after their appearance together at dinner, sources came out of the woodwork to comment on the burgeoning relationship between Mike and Demi. This kind of thing always happens, and whether the sources are accurate or not, I can’t not pay attention to them. A source told People that Mike and Demi are “having fun and getting to know each other,” and that “they’ve been talking privately for a bit and hanging out.”
For a bit?? A BIT?? What does this mean? “A bit” is obviously not an exact unit of measurement, but this wording makes it sound like they’ve at least been talking for a couple weeks. If they’re following the Gigi and Tyler timeline, that means they’ll basically be living together by the end of this week. Love to see it!
Obviously, we’re keeping our eyes and ears open for further signs that Mike Johnson and Demi Lovato are going strong, so we’ll keep this updated as we know more. Demi deserves a normal relationship, and this is the one acceptable excuse for Mike not being the next Bachelor. Basically, I’m here for this.
September 29th: TMI, Mike
Things appear to still be going well for Mike and Demi, because Mike still can’t stop talking about her. This week, Mike went on Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti’s Almost Famous podcast, and he didn’t shy away from talking about his connection with Demi. Mike said that he loves Demi’s tattoos, and then added that “she kisses really well.” Sorry, but ew. Trust me, I’m no prude, but there’s something weird about hearing a grown man talk about Demi Lovato being a good kisser.
Mike also added that Demi Lovato is the “aggressor,” which he finds “incredibly sexy.” So basically, Demi’s a top, which should come as a surprise to literally no one. Demi has some of the biggest dick energy around, and Mike just confirmed it. He also recently confirmed to E! News that Demi is the only person he’s talking to at the moment, so I feel like this couple isn’t going anywhere.
October 14th: Mike Shoots His Shot With… Keke Palmer?!
Smh, so I guess these hoes ain’t loyal, because Mike asked Keke Palmer out on a date on live TV on an episode of Strahan, Sara & Keke (which I did not know was even a show). So this probably means things with Demi are cooling down for a bit, because it would be extremely stupid to publicly ask out one celebrity while you’re currently dating another celebrity. I have to believe Mike is not that stupid.
On top of that, on the same day, Mike spoke to UsWeekly about Demi, saying he’d “never kiss and tell” (even though he already did…) and wants to “keep it 100” with himself moving forward. He also told them, “I will say this, that Demi is amazing. I think that she’s a beautiful individual inside and out.” Okay, like, is that not exactly what you say about your ex who you’re on decent terms with and still looking to smash?? It obviously could genuinely mean they are still figuring things out, but combined with the Keke date, it doesn’t look too good for Mike and Demi. I guess, for all the upset over Bachelor guys dating famous women, many of these relationships don’t seem to have much staying power.
Images: ddlovato, brettsvergara, thebetchelor / Instagram
These days, it seems more and more like the norm for the top tier of Bachelorette rejects to start dating legitimately famous women. Wells Adams is now engaged to Sarah Hyland, and we’ve obviously all been following the saga of Tyler Cameron and Gigi Hadid. Is Mike Johnson, the fan-favorite from Hannah’s season, the next guy to start dating an A-lister? We’re keeping a close watch, because it seems like he’s getting closer and closer to Demi Lovato.
We’ve known for a while that Demi Lovato is a fan of all things Bachelor Nation, and during Hannah’s season, she often posted her commentary on her Instagram stories. She was obviously a big fan of Mike while he was still on The Bachelorette, saying early in the season that he should win, and at one point writing “Mike I accept your rose.” Honestly, Demi Lovato is every single one of us watching at home, and I really respect that. Except, of course, that Demi Lovato is not like every single one of us, because she has millions of followers and also millions of dollars.
At the After The Final Rose special for Hannah’s season, Demi Lovato was in the audience, and things seemed like they might actually be happening. When asked about hooking Demi up with Mike, Hannah told Entertainment Tonight “I definitely have the hookup for Demi, if she wants to be with Mike. I would give her my blessing.”
But despite the positive vibes from Hannah, and Demi’s apparent crush on Mike, he played down any chance that they might be seeing each other. Last month, he told People TV “We have not connected and we have not exchanged any freaky texts at all. No to both.” While Mike and I have, sadly, not exchanged any freaky texts either, he continued, saying “She would definitely be cool to reach out to, but neither one of us have reached out to each other. I think she’s sexy, she’s got a nice little booty on her and she has a good voice.”
Okay, I like Mike a lot, but I’m not a huge fan of his characterization of Demi. Of course she’s sexy, but “nice little booty” sends a shiver down my spine, and to casually just call Demi Lovato’s voice “good” feels like the understatement of the century. I would listen to her sing the phonebook. Mike, what are you bringing to the table that’s as impressive as Demi’s voice? I’ll wait.
But while we were kind of sad to hear that Mike and Demi weren’t a thing, we knew this was going to happen. Because Mike was going on this season of Paradise, there was no way he was going to cop to anything happening with Demi before his time on the show came to an end. Contractually, he could’ve gotten in a loot of trouble if he admitted to any freaky texts. Wouldn’t want to upset Chris Harrison!
But now that Mike’s time on Paradise has come to an end without a Neil Lane engagement ring in sight, he’s free to do whatever he wants. And by that, I mean that he’s free to be thirsty in the comments of Demi Lovato’s Instagram, and that’s just what he’s doing. Last night, Demi posted an absolutely fire photo of herself in a swimsuit (completely unretouched, bless up), and the internet caught her and Mike flirting in the comments.
Obviously, one comment on a picture isn’t confirmation that they’re hanging and banging. I mean, I used to comment on every single photo that Charlie Puth posted, and I’m confident he doesn’t know I exist. But Demi obviously does know that Mike exists, and I don’t see any reason why these two shouldn’t at least hang out once and see where it goes. If Mike’s not going to be The Bachelor, maybe this is even better?
Obviously, we’ll be paying close attention to whether there are more signs of something going on between Demi and Mike, and hopefully they make it as easy as Tyler and Gigi. I want paparazzi pics together at least three times a week, no less!
Images: Shutterstock; ddlovato, brettsvergara / Instagram
Coming out of a week where the Amazon rainforest is being burned to the ground and the President of the United States of America is declaring himself a prophet, it’s nice to know there’s one constant in the vicious downward spiral that is daily life in 2019: the Bachelor.
Worrying about the future of the planet and life as we know it? Exhausting. Sad. Terrible.
Worrying about the future of the next Bachelor? Fun! Exciting! A blatant but necessary distraction from the impending apocalypse!
We’re about halfway through the latest season of Bachelor in Paradise, and believe me when I say *incredibly Chris Harrison voice* it’s been the most dramatic season yet. Demi Burnett has blessed us with our first openly queer relationship of the franchise. John Paul Jones has blessed us with his hair. Chad Johnson has blessed us with a series of Twitter rants, one that explicitly mention how bad we here at Betches are at our jobs. In short, it’s been a good run.
But as one head of the Bachelor Hydra dies, it is immediately replaced by another, hungrier for our attention than the last. Rumors are already swirling as to who the next Bachelor will be, and we’re here to break down the contenders for you. I am holding three pictures in my hands, but only one can be the next Bachelor. Will it be Mike Johnson, Pilot Pete, or Derek Peth? Only time and a heavy handed producer-influenced edit of Bachelor in Paradise will tell. You wanna be on top?
Trying to decide between Derek, Mike, and Peter for the next bachelor. #BachelorinParadise pic.twitter.com/0ARZQlLx2c
— Jennifer Brush (@JenBrush1213) August 21, 2019
Mike Johnson
Charismatic, humble, and well-liked amongst his fellow Hannah B. Bachelorette contestants, Mike was looking like Bachelor Nation’s pick up until this week when Derek Peth swooped in with and stole our hearts with never-before-seen levels of empathy in the face of getting dumped by a woman on national television for… another woman. Yes, men, the bar is in fact that low. (JK Derek we love you). But even amidst Derek’s PR win of the century, Mike still has some strong supporters in his corner. In the end we all know it will come down to whichever option lines Mike Fleiss’ bed with more money, but let’s pretend that we have a say.
PROS:
- Mike is stupid hot.
- He’s an air force veteran, which will win him the loyalty of the conservative end of Bachelor Nation
- He would be the first black Bachelor, which would be a breath of fresh air in this historically white as hell franchise.
CONS:
- Mike recently battled some criticism that he doesn’t like women of color after turning down Tayshia on Bachelor in Paradise. While he denied these allegations, it’s an early indicator that his decisions as Bachelor would be viewed under a microscope, much like Rachel Lindsay’s were during her season.
Me trying to
explain to my
non Bachelorette
friends that I
would literally pay
to watch Mike as
the bachelor. My friends #TheBachelorette #bachelornation pic.twitter.com/mHIGUi706N— Hannah (@hmlink) June 12, 2019
Me when people suggest Derek for Bachelor vs me when people suggest Mike for Bachelor.#BachelorinParadise #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/Wm5RZLC02x
— Bachelor Banter (@Bachelor_Banter) August 21, 2019
Listen, I love Derek. Derek is KILLIN it in Paradise. And any other time I would be totally be on the Derek for Bachelor train. BUT MIKE! WE NEED MIKE FOR BACHELOR #MikeForBachelor #BachelorInParadise pic.twitter.com/KxXawWOaLw
— Vicky (@vfensehl) August 21, 2019
Pilot Pete
Pilot Pete is a nice guy. Full stop. He’s kind. He’s genuine. He’s wholesome. He’s a pilot. What more is there to say?
Pete came out of Hannah B.’s season of The Bachelorette in a prime position to take on his roles as the next Bachelor. By steering clear of most of the Luke P. drama, he made it through relatively unscathed, making a graceful exit after hometowns, but not before his family got the chance to assure all of us that he has been “unlucky in love”—an easy transition to a role created solely to find love.
This man was primed to be Ben Higgins 2.0, but I have to ask: After two relatively lackluster seasons of The Bachelor, is that what we need? I would argue it isn’t. In 2020, a year that will be more of a dumpster fire than we could even imagine, we won’t be turning to the fantastical world of The Bachelor for the safe choice. We want drama. We want intrigue. We want someone who will make us forget it’s an election year.
PROS:
- Your mom loves Pete.
- Your grandma loves Pete.
- Pete is the safe choice.
CONS:
- Pete would not be the first black Bachelor.
- Pete didn’t just get (gracefully) dumped on national television.
- Pete is the safe choice.
I just don’t think Derek needs to be the next #TheBachelor I think he is a jam up human being, but I’ve seen enough of him. #PilotPete for The bachelor!
— Brooke Weathers (@_brookedoeshair) August 21, 2019
Why has everyone given up on Pilot Pete for Bachelor just because he isn’t in Paradise
— Lexi Semrau (@LexSemrau24) August 23, 2019
Me thinks Pilot Pete is going to be the bachelor and I'm less than impressed to potentially have a another 27 year old vanilla lead. #BachelorInParadise
— Daniela (@DanielaEspo) August 21, 2019
Derek Peth
I waited until the end of this writeup to tell you that Derek Peth is going to be the next Bachelor because that’s dramatic storytelling, baby. This is less of an opinion and more of an undisputed fact based on my many years of following The Bachelor and a basic understanding of pop culture politics in this, the year 2019.
ABC loves a redemption. Bringing Derek back to Paradise after his failed engagement to Taylor Nolan was already an indicator that he was in the running to become the next Bachelor. But after his performance this week as “sensitive and emotionally mature man who played the unlucky role in a bisexual love triangle,” there is literally no chance he doesn’t get chosen. He has the support of America, his fellow Bachelor franchise cohorts, and anyone who is remotely attracted to John Krasinski.
Barring any catastrophic events during the remainder of his stay in Paradise, Derek’s contract is effectively signed. I predict he’ll make a swift yet graceful, self-imposed exit, and then waltz his way straight to ABC’s offices for his check.
PROS:
- A good guy.
- Supports women.
- Looks like John Krasinski.
- Friends with Wells.
- It would probably piss of Chad Johnson.
CONS:
- The potential return of Taylor Nolan to the cultural zeitgeist but honestly, that’s not even that bad.
- That’s it.
Derek Peth on Demi: "I can’t put myself in her shoes. Truth be told, I can’t understand the level of bravery and courage that it took to say to me."
Me: "DEREK FOR #THEBACHELOR GOODNIGHT." #bip #bachelorinparadise
— Lauren Zima (@laurenzima) August 20, 2019
#derekforbachelor Appreciation video for my roommate on the @BacheloretteABC. My bourbon drinking buddy. My bestie from the TV world and honestly the one of the best guys I’ve ever met. We don’t deserve @pethderek. pic.twitter.com/okvToP6nbJ
— Wells Adams (@WellsAdams) August 21, 2019
And here we have our next #TheBachelor Derek, who is level headed, emotionally intelligent, sensitive, sweet, and understanding. Raise your hand to cast your vote ??♀️ #BachelorInParadise
— Kristina Schulman (@kristinaschulma) August 21, 2019
If John Krasinski & Liam Hemsworth had a child it would be Derek Peth from bachelor in paradise? pic.twitter.com/Iz38Ne9DNS
— Brinley Tavesi (@BrinleyTavesi) August 14, 2019
Me calling the producers to make sure Derek gets a happy ending after all of this this too#BachelorInParadise pic.twitter.com/oJCbeqEp7V
— the bachelor & bitchelor ? (@acceptedrose) August 21, 2019
Images: Twitter; @acceptedrose, @BrinleyTevesi, @kristinaschulma, @WellsAdams, @DanielaEspo, @LaurenZima, @LexSemrau24, @_brookedoeshair, @JenBrush1213, @hmlink, @BachelorBanter, @vfensehl
