Rose lovers, there’s a difference between drama and just being mean. For season 25, the girls are downright evil to the core.
The producers of The Bachelor are doing everything in their power to demolish any ounce of mental sanity Matt James could possibly still have at this point in the season. The latest bomb dropped? Five brand new women — but not just any five random women. No, these were five very attractive, very poised and very confident women who made all the original girls drown in their own insecurity.
Apparently, the ugly cliquishness and jealousy has gone so far for some contestants that people are referring to original contestants as “varsity” and the newbies as “JV.” Honestly, it’s a good thing that the women chose the comparison they did because it shows just how immature, mean and stuck in high school they all are.
We all knew this episode was bound to be cursed when the promos suggested a few more contestants would be joining the journey. Obviously, the new women didn’t get anything close to warm hugs and welcoming smiles upon arrival. It was just straight disdain from the “OG” girls who wanted nothing to do with any of the “new shiny toys.” The immediate reaction from all the original girls was so distasteful, so immature that all it did was reflect poorly upon everyone who portrayed a negative expression.
Just a week after Sarah was bullied off the show, the arrival of Brittany, Michelle, Kim, Catalina and Ryan created a whole new level of mean girl attitude in the house.
Victoria, who claimed she wanted nothing to do with the other women and was only here for Matt, has now become the meanest of the mean girls and equivalent to that of Regina George. Each week, she’s made it her mission to target one individual and either manipulate Matt to remove them or bully them so aggressively they leave the show.
Her victim of choice this week was newbie Brittany, who was doomed the second she joked, “they saved the best for last” and made out with Matt upon arrival. God forbid someone make out with The Bachelor on The Bachelor.
Immediately after finding out about the kiss, Victoria goes on a rampage — calling Brittany a “slore,” a combination of slut and whore. Catalina, who is Miss Puerto Rico Universe, is also bullied upon arrival. Victoria asks to talk to Catalina, and Catalina innocently thinks she’s another pageant queen. Instead, Victoria says, “I should have that crown” and takes Catalina’s crown off her head.
No one sticks up for Catalina, and the rest of the girls start shouting “Victoria” in the same way you’d hear before someone is about to fight in a coming-of-age movie. The mean girl antics being followed by almost everyone in the house are simply ruining the show and are becoming unwatchable at this point. Honestly, I forgot Matt was even a part of the show. He kind of turned into a back-burner contestant of his own season.
Then, we have Anna, the villain who came out of nowhere. Hot take: she’s worse than Victoria.
Anna is the squirrel-y, blonde one who is always making facial expressions that are usually associated with extreme levels of pain.
She gets so insecure about Brittany to the point where she begins starting rumors to damper her image. Creating lies about someone to make yourself look better is straight from the Mean Girl textbook.
Anna confronts Brittany about being an “escort” in front of the entire group and, even better, on national television, too!
“We’re all fighting for the same man, so I just want to make sure your intentions are pure,” Anna said. “Coming into this, I was actually getting messages from people in Chicago and them saying, ‘Watch out for this girl,’ that you’re an escort and all this stuff.”
Let’s be clear: if you are still slut shaming in 2021, it’s time to check yourself. It's no way to win Matt’s heart, either. Not only is there no reason for Anna to humiliate and degrade Brittany on national television, but things only get worse when all the rumors are false, and everyone begins bullying Brittany over lies.
It’s honestly unfortunate that women this immature and capable of such malice are even considered to be a part of the show. It speaks poorly upon the production side of the show that they knowingly allow this sort of behavior to circulate while filming. During this episode, producers made some serious mistakes allowing the conversations and rumors that did nothing but stigmatize women and allow slut shaming. Shame on ABC and everyone in production this season.
Here’s how fans reacted on Twitter: