Rachael Kirkconnell has spoken out to plead with Bachelor Nation to stop the hate against her former beau Matt James.
On Wednesday night, Rachael took to her Instagram Story in Matt’s defense.
Matt has reportedly been subject to online harassment and verbal attacks since the season finale and After the Final Rose aired on March 15.
“I am taken aback by what I’ve seen tonight. If you think that attacking a person I care about with racist insults is what I would ever want, you haven’t been listening,” Rachael wrote in a post shared on her Instagram story.
“Some of the things I’ve seen being said to and about Matt are repulsive,” she continued.
“I respect the decisions that Matt has had to make during this experience,” Rachael said.
Rachael asked fans to think about the impact of their words
“If you are directing hate towards him, please stop. Recognize someone’s humanity and think about the impact your words have,” she concluded.
Rachael is very aware of the impact words and actions can have on a person.
She has received her own share of backlash after it was revealed that she reportedly bullied a young woman for dating a black man in high school. Photos surfaced of Rachael when she was a student at Georgia College & State University in 2018 dressed in antebellum clothing for an “old south” fraternity party. She was also dressed in Native American clothing in another photograph.
Rachael addressed her past mistakes during The Bachelor: ATFR
Rachael has vowed to do better when it comes to correcting the mistakes of her past. She spoke to Emmanuel Acho during The Bachelor: After the Final Rose and addressed the photographs, the message they sent, and how she plans to behave moving forward.
“I see someone who was living in ignorance without even thinking about who it would be hurting. I never once asked myself at any point, like, ‘What’s the tradition behind this? What does this represent? Why do we wear those dresses?’” she explained.
“I’m not gonna sit here and say I didn’t know any better, because I could have easily asked myself those questions. I never took the time to make that connection, because if I would have taken the time, I easily could’ve understood what was wrong with it. … There is no excuse.”
The Bachelor is currently on hiatus.