Two years after his first social-media scandal that inadvertently spoiled Becca Kufrin’s Bachelorette season, Garrett Yrigoyen, Kufrin’s fiancé, is once again making headlines for his questionable choices in online content. On June 4, Yrigoyen pledged his support for America’s police on his Instagram page, pairing a photo with an impassioned plea to his followers to be kind to officers who are “suffering†during the nationwide protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. “It’s important for me to recognize the ones who stand in the gap and put their lives on the line each and every single day for humans of different race and ethnicity, including those who hate them,†he wrote. “The Thin Blue Line represents each officer protecting protestors, properties, and businesses while being threatened, attacked, shot, shot at, hit with vehicles, and other forms of brutality.†Many alums within Bachelor Nation, including Bekah Martinez, condemned Yrigoyen’s message in the comments.
Kufrin remained silent for a week after the Instagram post went live, but during her regularly scheduled June 9 podcast episode of Bachelor Happy Hour, she told co-host Rachel Lindsay that she didn’t support Yrigoyen’s ideology. “What he posted, I don’t align with, and I don’t agree with. I don’t think he meant it in a malicious way. I do think it was tone deaf and it was the wrong time and message and sentiment. I’m trying to get him to see the bigger picture,†she explained. “Garrett is my fiancé and I love him, and to his core, I believe that he is a good person.â€
Lindsay, who has been the franchise’s most vocal lead about the need for further diversity and reform, called bullshit on Kufrin’s response. “I don’t understand why you say ‘It wasn’t malicious’ or ‘I’m just now understanding things.’ You have to admit that you made a choice to not see it,†Lindsay told her co-host. “A message that Garrett posted totally contradicts the movement that we’re trying to push forward. And to see so many people ‘like’ it. The thinking that Garrett has is a bigger problem.†She also reminded Kufrin that Yrigoyen’s post wasn’t an “isolated incident,†given the 2018 scandal that unearthed his history of liking memes that mocked liberal women, transgender kids, and immigrants. “Garrett’s post is the problem and the thinking that went into it,†Lindsay added. “You don’t think black people have law enforcement in their family? It’s very selfish, and it is your white privilege to think that that is the message that you need to put out when black people are just suffering in such a huge way in this country.â€
After the podcast episode was released, Kufrin posted a message on social media to admit that she “came up short†in her discussion with Lindsay. She also expressed regret that she didn’t “defend†Yrigoyen more or “ask the right questions.†This prompted Yrigoyen to take matters into his own hands and respond in the comments on June 10, urging her not to “let people take away how you truly feel.†Just another exhausting week for Bachelor Nation.