Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock
‘Bachelorette’ Alum Hannah Brown Breaks Silence After N-Word Controversy: ‘I Promise to Continue Doing Better’
Former Bachelorette star Hannah Brown issued another apology for her n-word controversy, two weeks after she previously apologized for singing the racial slur.
Hannah, 25, took to Instagram Live on Saturday, May 30 to explain her first statement was “never supposed to be the end of the conversation, just the beginning.” She said she “hired an ‘educator’ to help her learn” and she has been”journaling,” “praying,” and “educating” herself in the weeks since the incident.
On May 17, the Dancing With the Stars winner issued an apology after she was caught singing the n-word on an Instagram Live that took place on May 16. In clips that were captured and reposted by fan sites, Hannah attempted to recall the moves to a TikTok dance featuring “Rockstar” by rapper DaBaby. She uttered the word as she sang the lyrics to the track out loud.
She admitted she was drunk at the time and continued to apologize for her behavior. “I’ve been reading a lot and what I’ve realized the most impactful thing I can do is talk to people like me and to not be complicit with the problem but take accountability for the times where I have been and I’m not gonna do that anymore,” Hannah continued. “The first thing that I have to do is take accountability of my actions and my words and the last time I was on here. I’m really nervous because this means a lot to me, and I’ve just been waiting and waiting and I was actually just on a run and I just can’t stay silent anymore.”
“I don’t want to be ignorant anymore,” the Alabama native said. “I don’t want to be an ignorant white girl who uses the n-word. But I also don’t want to be someone who goes on their platform intoxicated and engages with their platform that way. I have learned that there are things that I cannot say. There is so much more historical context that I didn’t know that makes it so much more inappropriate.”
She went on to address her fans. “I’m really thankful for people who believe in me and support me … But if you want to support me, do not defend me,” she said. “What I did and what I said was indefensible. Do not send hateful messages to people who are holding me accountable. Go on this journey with me. Take the resources that I have and let’s go on this journey together. I am no longer ignorant and I am no longer going to be part of the problem.”
The former Bachelor contestant came underfire by followers and her fellow Bachelor Nation stars shortly after the videos went viral. Season 22 Bachelor contestant Bekah Martinez and season 13 Bachelorette lead Rachel Lindsay, along with many others, called Hannah out on social media in the days following the controversy. While most felt her initial apology was “insincere,” her former Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron came to her defense. Still, Hannah continued to accept responsibility.
“I know there are probably a lot of comments like, ‘Why now? Why did it take me so long?’ And the fact is, I had a lot that I needed to figure out. And it is abnormal what I did, most of the time people apologize and whatever apology they put out, that’s it and then they hope it goes away. But what I did, I don’t want it to go away,” she explained. “What I did was something extremely serious and I did not want to continue repeating this long history of white people not taking accountability and responsibility for their actions when people of color, black people, call them out on their behavior and that is no something I wanted to be a part of … but to do that I had to understand.”
She finished her IG Live with a positive message. “I have been so disappointed in myself … and I know these words don’t fix anything. Sorry doesn’t fix it, but I promise the things you didn’t know before, it changes your heart and your convictions like never before. And I promise you that I will not be a part of the problem anymore from ignorance, I will be a part of the solution and you will see that,” Hannah said. “So, from the bottom of my heart, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry to everyone I hurt and I disappointed and I promise to continue doing better.”
