Bachelor Nation Reacts to Hannah Brown’s Using the N-Word

Bachelor Nation is speaking out after “Bachelorette” star Hannah Brown used the N-word in an Instagram Live.

On Sunday, Rachel Lindsay, Tyler Cameron and more “Bachelor” franchise alums took to social media to react to the controversy surrounding Brown’s use of the racial slur. The 25-year-old former pageant queen, who was last season’s Bachelorette, caused outrage online after she rapped some lyrics from DaBaby’s song “Rockstar,” which included the N-word.

Though Brown later apologized, fans and co-stars alike blasted her on social media. However, out of the several stars from the ABC reality dating series who shared their thoughts on Brown’s video, no one was as vocal as Lindsay, who was the first woman of color to be the Bachelorette.

On Sunday afternoon, after Brown had issued her apology, Lindsay took to Instagram Live to weigh in on the controversy, revealing that she had “directly” spoken to Brown about her mistake.

During an 8-minute clip, which she later posted on IGTV, Lindsay, 35, began by saying that she “never wanted to speak on this” and instead of “dragging” Brown, she decided to “educate.”

“I thought, let me just pull out a verse from the Bible,” the television personality began. “The Bible says in Matthew 18:15 that when you feel offended, you should go to that person and let them know that they offended you. So I did that, I thought, you know what, let me just speak to the person directly and let them know how I’m feeling.”

“It’s not an opportunity to call someone out, it’s not necessarily an opportunity to drag them, it’s an opportunity to maybe educate them, to speak to them how you were personally upset about it,” she continued. “That’s exactly what I did, never with the intention to come do an Instagram Live, I thought, ‘let me challenge this person to use their platform’ because last night it was used in a different way so let me challenge them to use it in a better way.”

Though Lindsay acknowledged Brown’s apology, she said we can’t “keeping giving people a pass for this” and must “hold people accountable for what they’re doing.”

“It’s easy to hide behind words but when you’re bold enough to say the N-word on camera, on your platform,” she explained. “Let me just say, when you’re bold enough to say the word on your platform, then you need to be bold enough to use your face on camera and apologize the same way you said the word.”

“You should feel uncomfortable,” Lindsay concluded. “That word has so much weight and history behind it. If you don’t know, please do yourself a favor and educate yourself on that word…I don’t care if you are singing along to it in a song. Non-black people should not feel OK about saying that word. It’s wrong. You wouldn’t say it on TV. You wouldn’t say it in front of your black friends.”

You can check out Lindsay’s video in the clip above.

Meanwhile, Tyler Cameron, who was the runner-up on Brown’s season of “The Bachelorette,” posted several thoughts about the drama on his Instagram Story.

In his first post, the model reshared Lindsay’s video and wrote, “Rachel hit the nail on the head. Y’all need to go look at the comments. We have a long ways to go on this issue and a lot to learn. If you find yourself getting defensive, you are part of the problem.”

Cameron then posted two direct messages from fans, who disagreed with the reality star’s stance, saying Brown “did nothing wrong.”

“WHAT… NON BLACK PEOPLE CANT USE THE N WORD…WTF????” read a DM. Cameron, who was recently quarantining with Brown at his Florida home, shared a screenshot of the message and wrote, “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.”

In another screenshot, a fan claimed Brown simply “sang words to a song” and said she’s “not a racist.” Alongside the message, Cameron hit back, saying “those that say it’s part of the song and that they can sing it are so out of touch.”

“HB is not a racist. I know,” he continued. “But blaming the rap artist is not the answer. Educate yourself and listen to what Rachel has to say about the word Bitch and hopefully it’ll start to click for you.”

Cameron concluded his thoughts in a fourth post.

“In these moments you have the opportunity to burry [sic] someone or lift them up,” he wrote. “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.”

Other Bachelor Nation stars including Bekah Martinez, Mike Johnson and Nick Viall also took to their Instagram Stories to react to Brown’s viral video.

Martinez, 25, who starred on Season 22 of “The Bachelor,” slammed Brown, writing, “You can’t say the N-word because black people say it. Black people reclaimed the use of a word that was used for centuries to oppress and dehumanize them. … So no, it’s not cool to just sing it along the lyrics of a song especially not ON YOUR PLATFORM WITH MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS?!! smh. it’s 2020. at least make a legitimate apology and acknowledge your behavior.”

“She shouldn’t have said the N-word. It’s pretty damn simple to me,” said Johnson, who competed on Brown’s season. “I haven’t seen the video. I would like to see the video. But people, don’t come at me like I’m watching everything that’s going on between my cast members on the show.”

Similarily, Viall said he received “a lot of questions” from fans about Brown’s video and shared his thoughts.

“There is no excuse. Period,” he wrote. “Super sad and disappointing to see.” Viall, who starred as Season 21’s Bachelor, appeared on two seasons of “The Bachelorette” and Season 3 of “Bachelor in Paradise,” also directed his followers to watch Lindsay’s Instagram Live.

Brown had issued an apology, but as many fans pointed out, it was after she appeared to brush it off in another Instagram Live earlier in the day.

“I owe you all a major apology,” she shared on her Instagram Story on Sunday evening. “There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said. I have read your messages and seen the hurt I have caused. 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.”