Rachel Lindsay Explains What She and Hannah Brown Discussed After the N-word Incident
Earlier this month Rachel Lindsay spoke out after fellow former Bachelorette Hannah Brown used the N-word while singing along to a song on Instagram Live.
Lindsay said she spoke to Brown directly about why she was “personally hurt and offended” by the comments and also expressed disappointment that Brown chose to release a statement rather than address the incident more directly.
And now Lindsay is revealing more details about the conversations and texts she had with Brown. “When Hannah and I talked, she wanted to know what my thought was as to what she should do. She said, ‘I want to ask you.’ And she was very remorseful. She was very upset. She was embarrassed. She was admitting she was wrong, and she said she wanted to go on a Live,” she told Nick Viall on his podcast, per E! News. “She was going to go first and then bring me on. Twice, she got off the phone with me to tell me, ‘Okay, I’m going to go do it. I’m just going to go get ready.’ Hours later, nothing. Then we would talk on the phone. And then, hours later, nothing again until it was ultimately decided she wanted to do a statement.”
Brown’s statement read, “I owe you all a major apology. There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said. I have read your messages and seen the hurt I have caused. I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better.”
Lindsay further explained why she was disappointed in that statement. “The reason it disappointed me so much that Hannah decided to give a statement is because—her words—‘A statement would be insincere.’ Hannah said that. ‘It felt icky to give a statement,’” Lindsay explained. “And I believed her when she said it. And it was her team that was advising her to give a statement. And she said, in her heart, she didn’t feel it was that way, and she felt that God had wanted her to use her platform for a bigger purpose. And she was going to step up and do that. So to see her ultimately text me and say, ‘I’m going to give a statement,’ was extremely disappointing because, you yourself said that that was insincere. So why did you therefore decide to do an insincere action? I’m very confused by that.”
Rachel Lindsay also received some criticism online that she was not supporting women by calling out Hannah Brown on her actions—but she wasn’t afraid to address that commentary, as well.
“But what else do you see when you see me? I’m black! I’m black. I’m black first and then I’m a woman. I am a black woman,” she told Viall. “It’s not about women supporting women. It’s about me representing myself as a black woman, and it is a derogatory term that is used against to oppress black people. So how, as being a black person, do I not speak out about this? It just baffles my mind. ‘You should be showing Hannah grace?’ Why isn’t that used on the flip side of things, you know? It’s crazy.”
Originally Appeared on Glamour
