On Thursday, The Bachelor’s Colton Underwood took to Instagram to share his story of sexual harrassment.
According to an IG Story written by the reality star, Colton was attending an event at Mavericks Beach Club in Pacific Beach, in support of the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation and Pura Vida bracelets, where he was touched inappropriately. “San Diego. I’m sorry if you didn’t get a picture at the event last night, but at one point during the event I was grabbed and touched inappropriately while people were throwing cameras in my face. I am the type of person who would have stood in line for hours to make sure that anyone who supported the event got a picture, but once that happened I had to do what was best for me as a human being,” he wrote.
 “I didn’t sign up to be a piece of meat or zoo animal. I hope we run into each other at another event or on the street and I can take the time to say hello. Thank you again for coming to support Legacy and the fight against CF.”
What happened to Colton is something far too many celebrities have to deal with. Once they’re in the spotlight, they face new challenges as they go out in public, such as fans and diehards who cross the line both physically and verbally. Knowing your boundaries is the basic foundation of respect that is unfortunately lost on many when it comes to their favorite Hollywood star. Grabbing or touching someone without consent is inappropriate and wrong. What happened last night serves as a good reminder that celebrities are people, and deserve to be treated as such.Â
And unfortunately, Colton isn’t the first of #BachelorNation to deal with this terrible issue.
Though this season’s Bachelor found himself face-to-face with it during a public event, his experience recalls a series of past incidents of sexual assault and harrassment involving stars of the Bachelor franchise. One of the first involved Meredith Phillips, star of the second season of The Bachelorette. In 2018, she revealed on a podcast that she was drugged and assaulted by a massage therapist hired by the show during the 2004 season’s production.
In 2017, spin-off franchise Bachelor in Paradise found itself in national headlines after contestant Corinne Olympios accused her male co-star, DeMario Jackson, of sexual assault. The accusations halted production of the season and made the show introduce new policies regarding alcohol consumption and consent. While the investigation found there to be no misconduct, the conversation around the ethics of the Bachelor franchises continued. Here’s to hoping there’s some major changes on the way.