Colton Underwood asked fans to stop affiliating him with The Bachelor after reports of his PPP loan got out.
Colton left a passionate message for fans to clarify why he took out the loan for his charity the Colton Underwood Legacy foundation.
“Let me save you the click bait headline,” he wrote on his Instagram story Monday along with a screenshot of a TMZ headline.
“My non profit filed for a PPP because we cancelled our charity events for the year,” he continued. “We help people living with CF. I don’t make a dime from my non profit.”
He then went on to slam The Bachelor franchise and declare that he’s done being affiliated with it for good.
“please stop lumping me in with the bachelor,” Colton stated.
“I don’t f**k with them anymore, they don’t f**k with me,” he added. “Point blank.”
This is a sudden turn from potentially collaborating with The Bachelor franchise on a gay season.
The franchise made sure to speak out in support of Colton after he came out as gay, but now it seems that things have gone sour between them.
He has since deleted this Instagram story, but Page Six was able to capture screenshots.
Colton’s representatives defend his PPP loan
News broke on Monday that Colton had applied for a PPP, or Paycheck Protection Program, loan for his charity Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation.
These loans were offered to small businesses struggling during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
As Colton stated, the charity is for children struggling with cystic fibrosis. The charity was granted $11,355, nearly half of what his fellow Bachelor Nation stars were offered.
Colton’s representative spoke to TMZ about what the purpose of taking out the PPP loan was.
They said, “Colton’s nonprofit filed for the PPP loan after their annual fundraising events were canceled due to COVID. None of the PPP went directly to Colton. In fact, Colton has never received any form of payment from the foundation, all of the proceeds go directly to people living with cystic fibrosis.”
Colton and Tayshia’s representatives have both spoken out about the PPP loans they applied for but Arie Luyendyk and Dale Moss’s representatives have yet to comment.
Colton’s history with The Bachelor franchise
Colton first appeared on The Bachelorette to win over Becca Kufrin. He ultimately made it to the top four and went on to date Tia Booth on Bachelor in Paradise.
He then was granted his own season of The Bachelor. He ended up hopping a fence and chasing down Cassie Randolph after she left his season to give her his final rose.
The couple ended up breaking up in 2020, and Cassie revealed that he had been tracking her and that she filed a restraining order against him.
Since then, Colton has come out as gay. He is expected to get his own Netflix documentary on coming out.
While he will be back on TV, it will seemingly not be with The Bachelor.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.