A learning opportunity. Kaitlyn Bristowe apologized to The Bachelor contestant Chelsea Vaughn after raising eyebrows for comparing their respective hair insecurities.
The former Bachelorette, 35, took to her Instagram Stories on Thursday, January 28, to tell her nearly 2 million followers that she had been “educating” herself, “listening” and “learning” by watching a YouTube video titled “The History of Black Hair” and taking notes.
“I was doing some research,” Bristowe said in a series of follow-up videos. “Here’s what happened: I was watching The Bachelor on Monday, as I always do, and it came time for Chelsea to go and sit down with Matt [James]. And Chelsea is up there for me. I really like her. I think she’s stunning. I think she’s down-to-earth. I think she has a great energy about her.”
That said, the Dancing With the Stars season 29 winner admitted that she “selfishly stopped listening” to Vaughn’s conversation with the Bachelor, 29, during which the model, 28, spoke about the emotional significance that hair has in Black history and culture.
“I instead immediately started talking to Jason [Tartick] about hair. I was like, ‘Yeah, there is emotional attachment. I’m so insecure about my hair,’” Bristowe said on her Instagram Stories. “I feel completely, completely ignorant. I am ignorant. I was ignorant in that moment to not listen to the rest of her story and understand the history behind why she has insecurities around her hair.”
She continued, “I owe Chelsea an apology. I owe a lot of people that are following me an apology for my ignorance. What I did was then go to my Instagram and do a paid partnership comparing my story to Chelsea’s about insecurities around hair. I am humiliated. I am so humiliated that I did not listen.”
The Canada native later shared a message on her Instagram Stories that read, “Shame on me for contributing to making a profit off of a Black womans [sic] struggle” followed by links to videos and articles that helped educate her.
While Vaughn did not publicly react to the posts, Bristowe did have a conversation with another member of Bachelor Nation, Taylor Nolan.
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“Thank you for reaching out, Taylor, and for chatting with me today,” the former dance instructor said on her Instagram Stories later on Thursday, acknowledging that she “should not rely on women of color to help explain these sort of things because I can do the work on my own.”
Bristowe, who tagged Vaughn in her posts, told fans that she was “going to reach out” to the Brooklyn native regardless so that they can clear the air.
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
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