Bachelor: Victoria Larson Calls Out Fans Criticizing Trump Flag Selfie
Victoria Larson, the villain of Matt James' season of The Bachelor who has come under fire for a selfie that appeared to have a pro-Trump flag in the background, has taken to her Instagram stories to defend herself. She shared a post from June that was supportive of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The show has a history of casting contestants whose social media activity promotes hatred. The most well-known instance was Garrett Yrigoyen, the winner of Becca Kufrin's season, who had liked a series of posts on Instagram that put his character into question. While he and Becca remained together after that discovery, Garrett's response to the protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd proved to be too much for their relationship to withstand. Due to the show's failure to cast leads and contestants who represent a cross-section of America, rather than produce a show that is overwhelmingly white with little to no body diversity, there have been careless missteps in the casting process. On Rachel Lindsay's season, the show failed to vet contestants' social media and wound up casting a racist, Lee Garrett, to vie for the first Black Bachelorette's heart. Many of the leads who are white, which is to say all the rest excluding the past two, have not shown an interest in dating outside their race. Following the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed, The Bachelor, likely pressured by the political climate more so than the sudden realization that diversity is a good thing, thrust Matt James into the spotlight. Given the recent terrorist attack on the nation's capital, fans are even more wary of the political leanings of the contestants on the show.
A picture of Victoria on Instagram appeared to display a Make America Great Again flag in the background. Victoria defended herself in a recent Instagram story by stating that was taken at a rental in Las Vegas and that she was in support of the Black Lives Matter protests, a cause the outgoing president has roundly rejected.
The efforts to out Victoria as a closet Trump supporter have likely gained steam due to her negative portrayal on screen. Her presence on the show thus far has been grating to many viewers, and it's no surprise the top trending Bachelor-related Google search for much of the week has been "When will Victoria go home?"
It is tempting, as emotions remain high following an assault on democracy with potentially more in the works, to attempt to out Bachelor contestants who are Republicans. There are even questions surrounding Matt and his mom Patty and where their political allegiances lie. While these causes are noble and generally done out of respect for the lead and his often well-intentioned suitors, fans need to be careful not to be too vitriolic to contestants who are not known supporters of Trump. The Bachelor could help itself out in future seasons by casting leads and contestants who wouldn't dare be seen anywhere near a Trump flag.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Victoria Larson