Colton Underwood slams 'ignorant' remark about 'Bachelor in Paradise' contestant Demi Burnett
Former "Bachelor" Colton Underwood has Demi Burnett's back.
Underwood, who starred on the 23rd season of the ABC reality dating series, took to Twitter to defend current "Bachelor in Paradise" contestant Burnett from a person commenting on her sexuality.
Last month, Burnett made Bachelor Nation history when a "Bachelor in Paradise" trailer showed she would be the first contestant in a same-sex romance on the franchise.
One troll, however, suggested Burnett's interest in the same gender was due to a bad experience with Underwood.
"I don’t blame for @demi_burnett for wanting to date / fall in love with a girl after @colton," the user wrote. "I probably would too."
Underwood retweeted her insult and fired back one of his own.
"It’s sad that this is your take away in all of this," he replied. "Your response is ignorant"
It’s sad that this is your take away in all of this. Your response is ignorant https://t.co/RDWxxlAPmu
— Colton Underwood (@colton) August 21, 2019
GLAAD acknowledged Burnett's history-making involvement on the show in a statement issued to USA TODAY by director of communications Mathew Lasky.
"'Bachelor in Paradise’s’ inclusion of Demi Burnett’s coming out story and her journey to accepting her queer identity is groundbreaking for the series,” GLAAD's Head of Talent Anthony Ramos said in the statement. “Tens of millions of people around the world watch ’The Bachelor’ and ‘The Bachelorette’ franchises and this move to include a same-sex relationship in an honest fashion has the power to upend preconceived notions of LGBTQ people like Demi who are attracted to more than one gender.”
Although she has the support of Underwood and GLAAD, Burnett has received backlash since coming out on Twitter as a "queer queen" following the "Bachelor in Paradise" trailer's release.
The Texas native reposted several negative messages last month, including an expletive-laden rant aimed at her sexuality, as well as trolls who threatened to boycott the spin-off entirely.
'Bachelor in Paradise' star Demi Burnett slams 'homophobic' trolls after coming out
"This is the first season I WILL NOT watch BIP due to the same sex disgusting behavior on screen. I have nothing against their choice of lifestyle but I don’t like to have it shoved down my throat on TV. you ruined your show for me and 300 others," one user tweeted.
Burnett hit back, replying: "The moment you described the relationship as disgusting is the moment you claimed yourself as homophobic."
Despite the negativity, Burnett tweeted she was overwhelmed "with love that… drowned out all the hate," adding, "I’m going to bed with a smile on my face. Love you all so much."
'Bachelor in Paradise' trailer shows franchise's first same-sex romance; contestant comes out
My DMs are so blown up with love that y’all have drowned out all the hate. It’s 3am and I’m going to bed with a smile on my face. Love you all so much 💕 thank you
— Demi Burnett (@demi_burnett) July 24, 2019
Contributing: Cydney Henderson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Bachelor in Paradise': Colton Underwood slams tweet about Demi Burnett
