Jewish ‘Bachelor’ Contestant Apologizes To Black ‘Bachelorette’ For Offensive Tweet
Leah Block, a Jewish contestant from ‘The Bachelor,’ tweeted an apology to Rachel Lindsay, the franchise’s first black bachelorette, for a tweet she posted during Monday’s episode.
Block tweeted, “I’m sitting here watching @BacheloretteABC and my roommate just sat down on the couch and said, What is this? @LoveAndHipHop_? DEAD.”
For those of you who can’t figure it out based on context clues, “Love And Hip Hop” is a reality television franchise that documents the lives of rap, R&B, and hip-hop producers, the great majority of whom are black. In other words, because Rachel Lindsay is black, she belongs (according to Block’s roommate) on “Love and Hip Hop.”
A hilarious joke, truly one for the ages.
Lindsay, who is not to be messed with under any circumstance, quickly tweeted a response to Block’s now deleted tweet.
Let me know if she wants to meet Lee…they sound like they would have a lot in common #ihavetimetoday https://t.co/CgEzZLxAWJ
— Rachel Lindsay (@TheRachLindsay) June 20, 2017
Lindsay is referring to Lee Garrett, a contestant on her own season who made headlines for his extremely offensive Twitter account, replete with racially charged tweets of his own.
Block, acutely aware that she was out of her depth, issued a long apology on her Facebook page, vowing to be try harder in the future.
“I come forward honestly and openly, to extend my sincere apology for the tweet from my account on Monday, June 19th regarding the current season of The Bachelorette,” wrote Block.
“Our Society should have no place for hate that targets any minority group. We can’t make the future better until we make ourselves better. And I’m starting now.”
It’s nice to know that we live in an era where people are called out when they cross lines. This will hopefully serve as a lesson to Block — educate yourself or stop tweeting.
Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter at @arr_scott
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO