The Bachelor star Ben Higgins is a loyal follower of The Bachelor franchise.
He got the chance to find love on The Bachelorette and was granted his very own season of The Bachelor.
He was also on The Bachelor Winter Games.
Ben got engaged to Lauren Bushnell on The Bachelor finale, but the two ended their engagement after trying to make it work.
While Lauren got married to country musician Chris Lane, Ben has stayed in the Bachelor spotlight.
Ben Higgins calls James McCoy Taylor a liar
Even though Ben’s new fiancee isn’t a Bachelor Nation alum, he continues to be part of the Bachelor family.
So, when Ben heard that James McCoy Taylor was thanking ABC and The Bachelor franchise for supporting him during the riots in Washington in early January, he felt he had to say something.
Ben told Insider that he “can’t associate with James Taylor” after the former contestant’s tweets and actions. Ben is speaking out as he used to see himself as a Republican.
“It was a dark day in American history and he was there for it and it’s still being promoted through him. I can’t say he and I have anything in common,” Ben told the website.
“However, he is representing The Bachelor and I think he went as far as saying that The Bachelor supported his efforts to do this — that is wrong! And he’s lying,” Ben pointed out.
“That didn’t happen. Nobody supported him in that. He’s lying and lying is not an OK thing to do. I don’t know why he’s doing it.”
James didn’t comment on Ben’s opinion of the situation and James hasn’t issued a statement after his tweets. A week after the riots, James tweeted thanks to ABC and the Bachelor franchise for “supporting” his decision to participate in the riots.
The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss exiled him from Bachelor Nation, saying the show would support no such action.
Shortly after, James thanked the network for their conservative views and support, Rachel Lindsay called for casting changes, asking the network to do better with casting.
Ben Higgins is no longer a proud Republican
Ben spoke passionately about this subject matter as he used to identify as a Republican. He even made headlines back in 2016 after his season of The Bachelor, as he was running for Congress as a Republican representative in Colorado.
However, Ben admitted that the Republican Party looked a lot different back then. It was to align the country and the Republican agenda, not to divide the country.
After President Trump’s time in office, Ben admitted that the party now looks much different from just four years ago.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.