Courtesy of Taylor Nolan/Instagram
Everything We Know About ‘Bachelor’ Alum Taylor Nolan’s Racism Scandal
On the heels of controversial season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell‘s racism scandal, Bachelor alum Taylor Nolan‘s past racist tweets resurfaced in February 2021. Now, the licensed mental health counselor is being investigated by the Washington State Department of Health over the posts. Here’s everything we know about Nolan’s controversy.
Nolan’s Tweets Contained Racist Language
The posts, which were posted to Twitter between 2011 and 2014, insulted minority groups, including the BIPOC, Indian, Asian, Jewish and LGBTQ communities. Nolan — whose mother is white and father is Black — also made comments on the social media platform that were perceived as fatphobic, slut-shaming and insensitive to mental health and suicide.
Nolan Has Since Apologized for the Tweets
On February 28, the Bachelor in Paradise alum took to Instagram to share a lengthy apology video, which has since been deleted. “My tweets from ten years ago are s—tty, they suck, they were wrong, and are hurtful,” she explained in a caption on the 30-minute clip. “I want to be clear that they don’t take away from the work I do today, they are literally how I got here to doing this work.
Nolan continued, “To my fellow BIPOC community and the other folks who I harmed in those tweets, I see you, I hope you see me, we are in this together and I’m sorry I didn’t always stand with you. I’m sorry I centered my whiteness and the whiteness around me. I’m sorry I wasn’t better then, but I am here now and will always be.”
The psychotherapist also noted that she didn’t delete the tweets “because they’ve been a part of my ~journey~ since way before going The Bachelor.” She added, “I didn’t need anyone to call those things out to me to know they were wrong, I’ve been doing that work on my own for the last ten years and it’s the same work I do today and the same work I will continue doing for the rest of my life.”
Two days after deleting the video due to backlash, she shared a second statement about her past posts.
“Yesterday’s response was a reaction and not an apology. I’m sorry I didn’t take a second to come correct. I owe you all an apology,” she said on Monday, March 1. “There is no question or defending that every word of my old tweets are harmful, wrong, triggering and incredibly upsetting to the communities that I identify with and that I support. I’m so sorry to the folks that were triggered and re-traumatized by seeing the hurtful words from my past.”
Nolan Is Under Investigation for the Tweets
On Friday, March 5, Department of Health spokesperson Gordon MacCracken told the New York Post‘s Page Six, “This week, we’ve received multiple complaints against Nolan in connection with the issues you mentioned. Those complaints are under assessment. Patient safety is our top priority, and we take all complaints seriously.”
In the statement, the official noted that “not all complaints lead to us opening cases” and that the department will “treat each complaint individually and evaluate it on its merits.” Additionally, MacCracken added that if an investigation is opened, it “may or may not” lead to charges, depending on the “facts of the case.”
If charges are filed against Nolan, she could potentially face a “license suspension or revocation,” the DOH spokesperson told the outlet. “This is in the early stages, and we can’t predict what the result may be.”
On March 24, MacCracken confirmed to the outlet that Nolan is under investigation, but it “doesn’t necessarily mean that disciplinary action will occur, just that we are moving to the stage of an investigation.”
Nolan Has Been Vocal Against Racism in the Bachelor Franchise
The mental health professional was one of the Bachelor Nation stars to call for host Chris Harrison to be fired following his defense of Matt James‘ contestant Kirkconnell amid her racism scandal. The ABC emcee — who has temporarily stepped back from his role on the series — made the controversial comments calling for “grace” towards Kirkconnell during an interview with former Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay.
As Nolan spoke out about Harrison’s remarks, her problematic tweets came to light.
