It’s been an astonishing week of lows for The Bachelor’s messy leading man, Peter Weber, who, in the midst of making some questionable choices during ABC’s five-hour Bachelor blitz, also admitted that he appreciated when contestants started fights and spread rumors about each other to prove their love to him. The barrage of negative tweets and Reddit posts have made their way back to Weber, and he has to admit … it sucks that fans now consider him a Juan Pablo and not a Sean Lowe. “I’m definitely getting some tough skin now,†he told E! News when asked about criticism. “I understand that there’s a lot of drama right now and things are kind of crazy, but I do think it’s a little … it’s too bad a lot of the criticism and a lot of hate that’s kind of been kind of coming out.â€
Weber said that while the show cultivates a “beautiful and amazing†environment for people to find love, it’s also difficult to always be racing against a clock. (Actually difficult? Not knowing about the pasts of certain women.) “There’s a lot of pressure and you have to make decisions in a really short amount of time and you have to let go of relationships that you maybe don’t know if you want to let go of yet, and it’s tough,†he explained. “And you just you try your best, and that’s all I did and I’m happy about that.â€
Aside from the popularity tide turning on Weber, another round of notable drama hit The Bachelor this week: It was revealed that current contestant Victoria Fuller previously modeled in an advertising campaign dressed in “White Lives Matter†attire. The photo shoot, which was for a Marlin Lives Matter organization, featured Fuller in confederacy-inspired clothing. Following this revelation, Cosmopolitan pulled a digital cover featuring the couple, which was the prize Fuller won during a group swimwear date in Costa Rica. “In my view, the nature of the organization is neither here nor there,†Cosmo editor-in-chief Jessica Pels wrote, “both phrases and the belief systems they represent are rooted in racism and therefore problematic.â€