Former star of The Bachelorette, and reigning winner of Dancing with the Stars, Hannah Brown got herself into a lot of hot water over the weekend. Hannah decided to do an Instagram Live on Saturday, and was seen during the broadcast uttering a racial slur as she rapped along to DaBaby's "Rockstar." Not only did the internet come for the reality star, but fellow Bachelor Nation alums Bekah Martinez and Rachel Lindsay also had things to say about the incident (and Hannah's original, half-hearted apology), which eventually led to her issuing a second apology. Now Hannah's ex-boyfriend, Tyler Cameron, has spoken out on the controversy.
After Rachel Lindsay posted her well-thought out reaction to Hannah's behavior on social media, Tyler went onto Instagram Story (via Entertainment Tonight) to talk about his thoughts on what Rachel had to say, along with his feelings about the incident itself:
Rachel hit the nail on the head. Y'all need to 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...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...Those that say that it's part of the song and that they can sing it are so out of touch. HB is not a racist. I know. 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.
Phew. I happen to think that Tyler Cameron handled this beautifully. Several of the comments that came in as he was posting on Instagram Story were from people who clearly didn't get the gravity of the situation or why so many people were upset about it, as well as those who were irritated that Tyler dared to agree with Rachel. Those commenters felt Tyler was helping people gang up on Hannah and not supporting her in the way they felt he should. To his credit, he made it clear that he wasn't "dragging" Hannah by agreeing with Rachel, but simply trying to use the platform to help educate.
After Hannah's inital apology (which saw her apologize, let a woman who was off camera blame the slur on someone else, to which Hannah then blamed the whole thing on her brother and rescind her original apology) Rachel Lindsay (as she explained on her Instagram Live) decided to speak to Hannah personally instead of just taking her concerns directly to social media first. So, even though she could have blasted Hannah publicly, she decided to see this as a chance to educate her fellow Bachelor Nation member, and part of her issue was, in fact, Hannah's non-apology apology.
It's easy to hide behind words, but when you're bold enough to say the N-word on camera, on your platform...then you need be bold enough to use your face on camera and apologize in the same way you said the word.
While Tyler acquitted himself well when he discussed Hannah's behavior and Rachel's response, it's pretty clear that he wouldn't have gotten out unscathed no matter what he said. Seeing as how many fans who watched him woo Hannah on The Bachelorette last year, and then saw that they reconnected enough to hang out after she dumped him, even going so far as to spend part of their quarantine time together this spring, still want these two together, they would probably have expected him to keep any issues he has with her private.
Considering how big this controversy is, I'm glad Tyler decided to follow Rachel's lead. Plus, he manged to wrap up with some positive thoughts on the whole matter:
In these moments you have the opportunity to burry [sic] 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.
Well, said Tyler Cameron. Well said. While the 2020 season of The Bachelorette with Clare Crawley is still on hold, a new retrospective show, The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable – Ever! is coming to ABC, and will debut on June 8 at 8 p.m. EST. For more on what to watch in the coming weeks, you can see what's new to Hulu in May, investigate our 2020 Netflix premiere guide and check out your options for summer TV.
