The Bachelor Season 27 contestant Greer Blitzer has issued an apology after her posts from 2016 recently resurfaced.
24-year-old Greer, who was introduced during Monday night’s premiere episode, was the winner of Zach Shallcross’ first impression rose.
As previously reported by Monsters and Critics, a Bachelor-themed Reddit group recently shared a few screenshots of since-deleted comments Greer had made on Twitter about a blackface scandal that happened with her friends in Houston, Texas.
During an off-campus party, one girl from Lamar High School painted her face black and wore a Tupac shirt, claiming to have been dressed as a “shadow.”
Greer made public comments about the ordeal in defense of the blackface photo and received a high amount of backlash from Bachelor Nation.
On Tuesday, just one day after her reality television debut, Greer took to Instagram to publicly apologize for the situation.
Greer Blitzer apologizes for defending blackface after The Bachelor premiere
Greer’s apology consisted of a text-based Instagram Story of her taking accountability for her comments.
She wrote, “In my past, I have made some uneducated, ignorant and frankly, wrong, comments on my social media accounts. In particular, in 2016, I used misguided arguments on Twitter to defend a student who dressed in Blackface as Tupac for Halloween.”
She continued with an apology, saying, “I am deeply sorry to those I have hurt, especially those within the Black community, not because these screenshots have resurfaced, but because I ever shared those harmful opinions at all. Time and age do not excuse my actions, but this is not a reflection of who I am today.”
Greer said that she does not approve or condone how she acted at that point in her life and admitted that she regrets posting the tweets in the first place.
Bachelor fans will remember a similar situation when Matt James’ contestant Rachael Kirkconnell was under fire for “racist” photos that resurfaced of her attending a plantation-themed college formal.
Much like Greer, Rachael also took to Instagram to issue a statement and publicly apologize for any hurt that she caused.
Greer wins Zach Shallcross’ first impression rose
While some viewers may not be too fond of Greer at the moment, she made quite the impression on Zach during the first episode of his season.
Although Zach had previously given a first impression rose to contestant Brianna during After the Final Rose last fall, he had one more to give out after meeting all 30 women on Monday night.
Zach chose Greer, the medical sale rep from Houston, who he shared a kiss with during their initial chat.
Zach said his talk with Greer was one of the easiest conversations he had throughout the night and that he was looking forward to getting to know her more. Greer agreed, calling Zach a “sweet soul” and saying she felt a “firework” when they kissed.
Will Greer be one of Zach’s top women this season? Fans can stay tuned to find out.
The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.