The Bachelor’s Abbie Chatfield was chastised online for her raunchy behaviour, with many fans of the TV show appalled that the 23-year-old would ‘villain’ would tell Matt Agnew live on-air that she was ‘horny’ and wanted to be with him.
Since her antics – and the infamous beach date which was branded ‘soft-core porn’ – the runner-up received ferocious backlash online, with the self-titled feminist now calling out her critics as ‘slut-shamers’.
After the Bachelor finale, Abbie took the opportunity to address those who vilified her online.
WATCH: Abbie Chatfield opens up about ‘rough morning’ following The Bachelor finale
“Things I got slut shamed for on #thebachelorau: this bikini, my skort at hometowns, multiple cocktail party gowns, kissing matt ‘without a date’ and at a cocktail party (out of sight of anyone), pashing Matt in various locations with varying degrees of intensity, honestly admitting that I wanted to have sex with a man I was dating for 10 weeks and all around just “using sexuality to manipulate Matt””, Abbie began.
Abbie continued: “This is something I did not expect in 2019. Sex is essential to a successful relationship for me, as is sexual chemistry and the ability to express that comfortably with my partner. I saw commentary around my sexuality (rightly) calling out slut shaming and double standards regarding my pash sessions with Matt, with responses of “I’m not slut shaming her she is just manipulative/dumb/aggressive/only wanting sex”.
“To insinuate that any relationship is less valid because of a strong physical connection is counterintuitive – the defining factor between a platonic and romantic relationship is physcial expressions of affection. I saw many comments about me having “nothing between my ears” or that I was “so insecure she can’t talk to him so they just kiss”. The public see ten minutes of a twelve hour date, it is insulting to both myself and Matt to assume he took me right until the end purely for a snog.”
“I’d like those who think that I was manipulative to TRULY examine why you believe that. On most occasions, it comes down to a core belief that a woman who is “seducing” a man has ultrior motives, while a man doing the same is merely being romantic.
“If it isn’t that, it is based off the opinion voiced of other contestants on the show, not my actions. I was always honest, authentic and expressive which can sometimes rub people the wrong way. It’s okay to not like me – it is not okay to assume that I am less of a person or less worthy of love because I like to have sex and can talk freely and openly about it,” Abbie finished.
A bunch of former and current Bachelor stars took to the comment section to show their support, with last season’s ‘villain’ Alisha writing: “In conclusion, we stan harder than ever before.”
While Elly Miles wrote: “I love that you’ve finally been able to defend yourself Abs 💖👏🏻”
Despite the onslaught of criticism from the Australian public, The Project’s Lisa Wilkinson has come out in defence of Abbie, while host Osher Gunsberg wrote on Twitter: “I’ve been doing this job a while now. Tweeting every episode that goes to air. And I am always interested to see how a strong woman powerfully expressing her sexuality makes so many people so uncomfortable.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
