Why Rachel Lindsay Is ‘Disappointed’ with Hannah Brown’s N-Word Apology Statement

Rachel Lindsay is sharing her thoughts about Hannah Brown’s apology statement after using the N-word.

While appearing on Monday’s episode of Nick Viall’s podcast, “The Viall Files,” the former Bachelorette, who was the first and only woman of color to lead the series, weighed in on the controversy surrounding Brown, explaining why she was “disappointed” with her apology.

After setting the record straight about claims that she was “bullying” Brown, Lindsay, 35, revealed she was upset over Brown’s mea culpa because she posted a written statement rather than an on-camera apology.

Lindsay, who starred on Season 13 of “The Bachelorette” back in 2017, said she had “multiple conversations over the phone, text and direct messages” with Brown after the video of her using the racial slur had gone viral.

“When Hannah and I talked, she wanted to know what my thought was as to what she should do. She said, ‘I want to ask you.’ And she was very remorseful. She was very upset,” Lindsay recalled. “She was embarrassed. She was admitting she was wrong, and she said she wanted to go on a Live.”

“She was going to go first and then bring me on,” Lindsay continued. “Twice, she got off the phone with me to tell me, ‘Okay, I’m going to go do it. I’m just going to go get ready.’ Hours later, nothing. Then, we would talk on the phone. And then, hours later, nothing again until it was ultimately decided she wanted to do a statement.”

The American attorney claimed that Brown “wanted to speak on camera because she wanted people to understand where she was coming from.”

“The reason it disappointed me so much that Hannah decided to give a statement is because, [to] quote her words, ‘A statement would be insincere,'” Lindsay added. “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,” Lindsay continued. “And she was going to step up and do that. So, then to see her ultimately text me and say, ‘I’m going to 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.”

TooFab has contacted reps for Hannah Brown regarding Rachel Lindsay’s claims.

Brown became a subject of controversy last week after she said the N-word while singing the lyrics to rapper DaBaby’s song, “Rockstar” during an Instagram Live.

After the clip went viral, the former pageant queen issued a written statement on her Instagram Story.

“I owe you all a major apology,” Brown wrote. “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.”

Several members of Bachelor Nation, including Tyler Cameron, Bekah Martinez, and Mike Johnson, shared their thoughts on social media. However, no one was as vocal as Lindsay, who posted a video on Instagram Live.

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

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.”

Watch her full IGTV in the video, above, and click here to see how Bachelor Nation reacted to the controversy.