‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood & Gus Kenworthy Netflix Series Sparks Backlash
American Freestyle Skier and openly gay athlete Gus Kenworthy, who seemingly never puts a foot wrong, has suddenly been drawn into a controversy surrounding a new Netflix series and a former Bachelor USA contestant. Confused? So was I the first time I came across this story.
The former contestant in question is one Colton Underwood, who in an interview with Good Morning America laid bare his story, and in the process also came out as gay.
JUST IN: Former “Bachelor” star @Colton Underwood speaks his truth and comes out to @robinroberts: “I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it… I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been in my life.” https://t.co/PoYJUAPBpA pic.twitter.com/isP7SptUu7
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 14, 2021
“Obviously this year has been a lot for a lot of people, and it’s probably made a lot of people look themselves in the mirror to figure out who they are and figure out what they’ve been running from or have been putting off in their lives.
“For me, I’ve run from myself for a long time, I’ve hated myself for a long time and … I’m gay. I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing all of that. The next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.” Underwood told Good Morning America’s anchor Robin Roberts.
Colton Underwood is a manipulative, abusive stalker. He also follows Morgan Wallen on Instagram. And he’s SO BORING. Glad he’s able to accept who he is but I also don’t care because he sucks and it’s annoying seeing so many gays thirst over him since he’s white and has abs.
— Andy Herren (@AndyHerren) April 14, 2021
Stalking And A Restraining Order
Later that day, Variety reported that Underwood is currently in the middle of filming a docuseries for Netflix about accepting his sexuality.
Underwood rose to prominence in what is possibly one of the trashiest reality TV shows ever made when he was cast in the 14th season of The Bachelor in 2010. In 2018 he found himself cast in spin-off series Bachelor in Paradise. In 2019, Underwood was cast as eponymous Bachelor in series 23. The recipient of his final rose was Cassie Randolph, but it appears Randolph got much more than she had bargained for.
And this is where the controversy kicks in as a restraining order taken out against Underwood. It was claimed that “Mr. Underwood has been stalking and harassing Ms. Randolph. He has sent her unsettling text messages, repeatedly called her, and placed a tracking device on her vehicle to track her whereabouts.”
My thoughts on this Colton Underwood Netflix deal..abusers don’t deserve the spotlight. Period. Women aren’t just tertiary characters in a male’s story arch in becoming their true self. He deserves respect for his sexuality but he does not deserve respect for his abusive behavior
— Hannah Claire (@_hanblackwell) April 15, 2021
Gus Kenworthy As Gay Guide
So, you might be asking- how is Kenworthy involved? Well, it was also announced that the Olympic silver medallist will act as a sort of guide for this newest member of our community. But do we want him- the jury is still out. Though perhaps Kenworthy could teach this creep that it’s simply not ok to treat women with anything less than the upmost respect.
And it appears there are many more people also outraged at the news that yet another man will seemingly be awarded for bad behaviour (I know- ground-breaking in the context of 2021).
A change.org petition has amassed over 23,000 signatures so far. The petition itself reads, “Colton is a former bachelor lead who stalked his final pick, Cassie Randolph. He placed a tracker on her car, sent her and her friends anonymous threatening texts, and was even seen standing outside her window extremely late in the night, resulting in her brother attempting to de-escalate the situation.”
Ways Gus Kenworthy will serve as Colton Underwood's "gay guide":
1) When Colton has an opinion Gus will say, "Honey, no. Just no"
2) When Colton chooses an outfit Gus will say, "Please. Joke over"
3) When Colton can't identify a Broadway star Gus will sigh and ask, "Who are you?"— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) April 17, 2021
“Cassie is a victim of Colton’s abuse, and he does not deserve a platform in any way. Regardless of his sexuality, Colton should not be given a platform as a result of his abusive, manipulative, and dangerous behaviour.” The statement on change.org concludes.
Many are now calling on Kenworthy to pull out of the series all together. Though with little information as to what stage of production the series is in, it may prove difficult for him to get far enough away from this smouldering trash fire of a story in time.
