Bachelorette Katie Thurston apologizes after she’s accused of ‘mocking’ LGBTQ fans with photo of herself kissing woman
BACHELORETTE Katie Thurston apologized after she was accused of "mocking" her LGBTQ fans with a photo of herself kissing another woman.
The other woman was actually Casandra Suarez, one of the contestants who competed alongside her for ' heart in the last season of .
A few days ago, Katie shared a pic from her trip to San Diego with other Bachelor and contestants.
She shared a series of pics with the group of girls - who included Casandra, Sarah Trott, Alana Milne, and Sydney Johnson - at the pool and a club before meeting up with some of the guys from previous seasons.
However, one photo specifically had fans buzzing where the Bachelorette star passionately kissed Casandra on the neck while standing in front of a neon sign that read "Girls, girls, girls."
Along with the pic, she wrote: "Whatever floats your boat."
Many wondered if the Bachelorette was coming out but others criticized her as they believed she was using the LGBTQ community for social media clicks or was queer-bating her audience.
One fan commented on Reddit: "I remember checking out Katie's TIkTok a few months ago and watching her video about kissing a girl.
"As a queer woman, I was uncomfortable - she presented her experience as a silly joke, as 'practice' before she kissed a guy for real."
A second fan commented: "I'm a lesbian and it's just more annoying than anything. It's irritating to see women who date men (not just straight women) romanticize and fetishize same-sex relationships between women.
"I hear almost everyday from women who are attracted to men that they feel things would be easier if they date women or the classic 'I'm just gonna be a lesbian.'
"Queerbating is a thing. It's a way to show 'just enough' acknowledgment to gayness without actually acknowledging us as people. So yes, it's irritating.
"I don't think Katie is a bad person but the dismissal of this is more the issue, in my opinion."
To try to clear up any rumors, according to Katie commented on the picture before deleting it: "I did not intend for this picture to be a statement of my sexuality.
"This is simply a friendship post. I've never spoken publicly about my sexuality nor am I doing so with this picture. Nothing but love for everyone."
Following her deleting the picture, she wrote on her Instagram stories: "To my followers: I've removed my most recent post after realizing how many people from the LGBTQ+ I hurt.
"I am so sorry. I've read the comments and better understand why my post was offensive.
"I will continue to learn from my mistakes. I want to always be an ally and today I'm sorry I let you down."
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A few days ago, ABC revealed a promo for Katie's upcoming season of The Bachelorette and .
One wrote: “They really said ‘sorry we spent our entire promo budget on having Hannah B run through the forest with a tiara on’.”
“This is so awkward to watch omg,” cringed another.
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While a third asked: “Wtf is this? A low budget Disney movie trailer?”
However, fans will at least be happy to know that Katie will be finding her next partner on the show as she revealed that she's in a healthy relationship now.
