Rachel Lindsay took issue with New York Magazine’s framing of an interview she gave that was published Monday, and she has aired her issues out on Instagram. Vulture, the brand that ran the piece, apologized in a statement.
“I worked with New York Magazine very closely on a cover feature where I was given the opportunity to tell my story and share my experience with the ‘Bachelor’ franchise,” she said in a statement posted to the photo-sharing app. “It was deeply personal but I felt it was important to share. While it was a very collaborative experience, they decided to misrepresent me with the headline that was chosen for the cover. Those are not my words nor are they are reflection of how I feel. In fact, it is in stark contrast to the context of the piece.”
She went on, “For me, it is very disappointing and disrespectful that the very notion I was trying to refute was used against me by the publication for a clickbait headline. My truth and my thoughts are told on the inside of the magazine which I am very proud of and hope you all read.”
A New York Magazine spokesperson told TheWrap Monday afternoon, “New York Magazine is incredibly proud to have published Rachel Lindsay’s powerful, first-person story, detailing her experience with the ‘Bachelor’ franchise. We were sorry to learn that she is unhappy with the cover line (which was not meant as a direct quote), but it shouldn’t take away from the candor and bravery of her words in the piece.”
The piece was titled “Rachel Lindsay Has No Roses Left to Burn,” but the cover featured Lindsay’s face and declared, “Oops, I Blew Up the Bachelor.” In the story, she noted the distinction between Bachelor Nation — the diehard fans of ABC’s long-running “Bachelor” franchise and its spinoff series “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise” — and what she calls “Bachelor Klan.” The latter group, according to Lindsay, is a “hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic” division of the larger Bachelor Nation that Lindsay lived in during her time as a contestant on “The Bachelor” and as the first-ever Black lead on “The Bachelorette.”
“There is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan. Bachelor Klan is afraid of change. They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out,” Lindsay told writer Allison P. Davis.