Did ‘Bachelorette’ Producers Slut-Shame Kaitlyn Bristowe In The Season Teaser?

A new season of The Bachelorette hit the airwaves Tuesday. Kaitlyn Bristowe won the dubious honor of being fought over by a bunch of dudes. The show’s formula is a familiar one, but this promotional video takes a detour. The montage starts with the usual rose-petal-covered furniture and a heroine saying she’s “ready to fall in love” with a future husband.

Then everything goes very wrong, very quickly. At around the 2:30 mark, heavy breathing commences. The next morning’s footage shows Kaitlyn hiding her face in shame. She cries after sleeping with someone weeks before the “fantasy suite” stage of the season. A suitor named Ian lectures Kaitlyn for kissing several contestants. The drama continues unabated:

The Bachelorette announced its leading lady, Kaitlyn Bristowe, following the show’s two-part premiere on Tuesday, but more shocking than Bristowe’s win against Britt Nilsson was what social media has deemed a 4-minute-long “slut-shaming” teaser for the upcoming season.

The dramatic season preview shows Bristowe breaking down after admitting to having slept with one of her suitors. “I don’t understand; it just happened,” she says in the clip. “I don’t think I’m a bad person, I’m not ashamed of myself, but I do have other relationships, and one of those relationships went too far, too fast. … I made a huge mistake.”

Ian, one of the show’s 25 contestants, tells Bristowe, “I don’t question his intentions; I question your intentions. I feel like you’re here to make out with a bunch of dudes on TV.”

Kaitlyn may have regretted her actions, but she didn’t do anything that last year’s Bachelor, Juan Pablo, didn’t do. Twitter is aflutter with accusations of slut-shaming.

https://twitter.com/Sarah4Hartman/status/600891015466094592

https://twitter.com/Megan61Brown/status/601207521244753920

https://twitter.com/NonfatMike/status/600835491815100416

(Via Slate and Hollywood Reporter)