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A day after The Bachelor season 27 premiered on ABC, Zach Shallcross’ first impression rose receiver Greer Blitzer landed in controversy.
A Reddit user shared the contestant’s past comments on Blackface related to the 2016 controversy over a Lamar High School student donning Blackface at a party. She defended the student’s action on social media at the time, and those comments have surfaced, resulting in an online backlash.
After receiving a lot of criticism over her old comments, she shared an apology post on her Instagram story.
It read:
“I am deeply sorry to those I have hurt, especially those within the Black community, not because these screenshots have resurfaced, but because I ever shared those harmful opinions at all.”
The 24-year-old contestant is a medical sales rep from Houston, Texas.
Take a look at Greer Blitzer’s controversial comments
A Reddit user shared Greer Blitzer’s comments in October where The Bachelor suitress supported the teenager who wore Blackface at an off-campus event.
Greer tweeted:
“The students involved didn’t even know what black face was so my point exactly. It wasn’t an intentional racist act.”
Another comment read:
“This previous incident was dumb not racist? She did not paint herself black because she felt superior to black ppl.”
Furthermore, Greer wrote:
“Putting white powder on your face isn’t okay either. That didn’t make the news did it? I apologize if this offended you but you must understand it was not initially supposed to be perceived that way at all.”
Greer is not the first Bachelor Nation cast member to receive criticism for blackface-related issues. On The Bachelorette season 19, Gabby Windey’s final man Erich Schwer was blasted online for an old blackface photo. He, too, apologized on social media.
Meanwhile, Greer is facing the online heat.
Only time will tell whether the controversy will die down or affect her journey on the ABC show.
Why did The Bachelor Zach Shallcross give Greer the first impression rose?
Some of her past comments on Blackface surfaced online after The Bachelor lead Zach Shallcross gave Greer the first impression rose in the premiere episode, which aired on Monday.
In an interview, Zach spoke about his decision to choose Greer for the first impression rose. He said:
“With Greer, she had this calming effect on me. I’m back at the mansion and there’s the cameras and I’m meeting 30 new women, and it’s a lot to take in. And so when you meet someone that can bring that comfort level and allow you to not be so caught up in your head — it was very relaxed with her.”
Among the 30 women, Zach picked 19 contestants for the next phase of his Bachelor journey. The chosen women are Greer, Anastasia, Bailey, Aly, Brooklyn, Charity, Ariel, Christina, Gabriella, Genevie, Davia, Jessica, Catherine, Kaitlyn, Kylee, Kimberly, and Mercedes.
The ladies who were sent home were Madison, Brianna, Rebecca, Cara, Holland, Olivia L., Olivia M., Sonia, Vanessa, Chandralekha, and Viktoria E. Zach bid goodbye to Madison Johnson before the rose ceremony after the contestant admitted to not feeling wanted and that the two had no spark.
Hosted by Jesse Palmer, The Bachelor season 27 premiered on January 23, 2023, on ABC at 8.00 pm ET. The show will air new episodes every Monday at the same time on the same channel.
Viewers can watch the episode on Hulu the following day.
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