'The Bachelor' Contestant Greer Blitzer Apologizes Again & Condemns Her Past Defense of Blackface
Greer Blitzer is doubling down on her apology for blackface.
The 24-year-old The Bachelor star opened up about her past comments during the Women Tell All special, which aired on Tuesday night (March 14).
If you don’t know, just a few months ago, Greer‘s past, deleted tweets from 2016 were picked up by Reddit users where they heavily debated and criticized her comments.
In her apology she posted when the tweets resurfaced, Greer wrote that she was “deeply sorry to those I have hurt, especially those within the Black community, not because these screenshots have resurfaced, but because I ever shared these harmful opinions at all. Time and age do not excuse my actions, but this is not a reflection of who I am today.”
Now, Greer has addressed them once again.
Keep reading to find out more…
Greer addressed her controversial defense of blackface, acknowledging the racist nature of her actions and expressing her shame for her past ignorance.
During the episode, she opened up about her efforts to educate herself and work with a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant to better understand the history and impact of blackface. She expressed her regret for defending the high school student’s use of blackface and stated her commitment to being better and doing better in the future.
“I’ve been wanting to address this. I don’t want to sweep it under the rug,” she shared with the cast and host Jesse Palmer, via Variety. “What happened was racist. It’s not about the intent; it’s about the impact.”
She went on, explaining that the “acquaintance of mine that I knew performing blackface was racist, me defending it was racist, my ignorance was racist and I’m just so ashamed. I’m just deeply sorry that I hurt the Black community. I can’t go back in time. All I can do is try to be better now and try to do better in my future.”
Greer also acknowledged the larger issue at hand, with Dr. Kira Banks, a professor and diversity consultant, emphasizing the importance of real action over performative words
“I really wanted to dive deep into the history of blackface and understand why it was wrong, why it was offensive. The research that I was able to do, I realized it was symbolism for dehumanizing the Black community,” she added. “What I said was wrong,” she added. “Defending that girl was racist. I want to take that accountability, I don’t want to excuse it.”
This is not the first time racism or blackface has come up in the history of The Bachelor.
Erich Schwer, who was a finalist during Gabby Windey‘s season of The Bachelorette, was pictured in blackface; and there was entire scandal involving Rachel Kirkconnell, who went on to win Matt James‘ heart on The Bachelor, which included the firing of longtime host, Chris Harrison.
Rachel and Matt have both addressed the scandal extensively.