'Bachelorette' Clare Crawley defends herself against backlash for strip dodgeball group date
Men on her group date were nearly naked by end of game
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Clare Crawley clapped back at “Bachelorette” viewers who were left outraged after last Tuesday's episode showed her egging on male contestants to play strip dodgeball.
By the end of the game, her suitors were left to cover up with just a thong. ABC used black boxes to censor certain areas.
People criticized Crawley, 39, calling her suggestion a “double standard” and argued that if a male “Bachelor” lead would have made the same request to female contestants, the show would be taken off the air.
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“@Clare_Crawley It’s awful you had the guys take off their clothes if The bachelor asked the women do the same things all heck would break loose. You were wrong. Juan Pablo should have had you strip,” one fan tweeted on Sunday.
In response, Crawley said, “You mean like this?” She attached a photo from a date with “Bachelor” lead Juan Pablo where contestants Andi Dorfman and Lucy Aragon were made to strip down for an animal adoption campaign.
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Her comment echoed some people who defended her last week, pointing out that former “Bachelor” Peter Weber made the women on his season play lingerie wrestling and “Bachelor” Chris Soules had his contestants ride on tractors in a bikini through Los Angeles.
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Many fans still weren’t satisfied by how Crawley addressed the backlash.
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“Ugh Clare, this is a bad response. Contestants felt uncomfortable in that episode as well, and therefore viewers felt uncomfortable. These stripping dates just shouldn’t be done, period. It’s 2020,” one person said.
Another fan responded, “how about it’s inappropriate and demeaning either way?? one doesn’t make the other right. I understand it’s production choices, but it makes sense to me why people are upset.”
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“Yes, exactly like this. Andi almost cried on this date she was so uncomfortable. Just because there is a precedent for something, doesn’t mean we can’t all advocate for better,” another person chimed in.
“The Bachelorette” later liked a tweet that implied she wasn’t actually the mastermind behind strip dodgeball despite it being her suggestion on the episode.
“Hmmmm it’s almost like making contestants take their clothes off is a really tired production trick and wasn’t your idea at all,” the fan said.
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After the group of men returned nude to the “Bachelorette” mansion, Yosef Aborady, who wasn’t on the strip dodgeball date, called the request “classless.” He appears to confront Crawley about the game on Tuesday’s episode.
Representatives for "The Bachlorette" did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.