The Bachelor Season 26 has stirred up a lot of conversation surrounding mental health after Shanae Ankney mocked Elizabeth Corrigan’s ADHD.
The Bachelor viewers have lots of critique for how Shanae, Clayton, and production have handled mental health on the show.
Clayton recently took to social media to address the subject but received backlash for his message.
Clayton Echard says ‘everyone’s mental health matters’
Something that Clayton Echard has continued to be criticized for is his decision-making. In just a few episodes, Clayton has already had several head-scratching moments where he seemed to gravitate towards problematic women.
Clayton’s most recent blunder was choosing to keep Shanae around and eliminate Elizabeth after their feud, a decision that shocked both viewers and The Bachelorette Season 18 star Nayte Olukoya.
Facing scrutiny, Clayton took to Twitter to remind people to be kind online and be courteous of not just one person’s mental health but everyone’s. Clayton wrote, “Everyone’s mental health matters. So please keep that same energy before you click “send.”
Clayton’s message, while having truth to it, was interpreted as an act of protection for Shanae Ankney and himself, which led to him facing some backlash.
The Bachelor viewers ‘click send’ on their critiques of Clayton Echard
The Bachelor viewers sounded off in the comments after feeling like Clayton was trying to prioritize his and Shanae’s mental health and dodge criticism.
Many suggested that Clayton keeping Shanae around was a reflection of his character.
One The Bachelor critic implied Clayton was a clown as they called him out, saying, “Still haven’t apologized to Elizabeth” with a clown emoji.
Another The Bachelor viewer wrote, “Actually keep shanae because you don’t deserve any of those women. Keeping her around says a lot about your character. And the way you talked about your past relationships, you did not even mention Michelle once only goes to show how you used her to become the bachelor.”
A The Bachelor fan commented, “I agree w/you that him keeping Shanae around says a lot about who he is and what he’s really looking for.”
One The Bachelor viewer accused Clayton of playing the victim, writing, “Are you serious bro? You let a woman get bullied on national TV & sent her home like she was the problem, even though everyone was telling you Shanae was the problem. And you have the nerve to play victim? Wow, maybe you & Shanae were made for each other.”
Another The Bachelor fan addressed Clayton seemingly defending Shanae by tweeting, “Not that you’re incorrect, but I don’t think you need to come here defending Shanae from the fans before defending Elizabeth and other women subjecting to her firsthand bullying from her. Not that her behavior is your fault, and I’m sure producers enabled more than you, but cmon.”
Do you agree that Clayton was possibly protecting Shanae with his tweet?
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.