The Bachelor contestant Greer Blitzer apologizes again for defending Blackface

A week after Zach Shallcross eliminated Greer Blitzer from this season of The Bachelor, the contestant returned to apologize again for her controversial posts about blackface.

The 24-year-old medical sales representative from Bellaire, Texas earned the first impression rose from Shallcross, though she was eliminated in seventh place last week.

Blitzer came under fire shortly after she was announced as part of the cast, with a Reddit user digging up deleted tweets from 2016 where she defended someone using Blackface for a Halloween costume.

While Blitzer apologized for the tweets on social media in January, the show hadn’t addressed the controversy until Tuesday’s special.

Host Jesse Palmer put Blitzer on the hot seat, addressing the franchise’s past in handling racial controversies.

Apologize again: A week after Zach Shallcross eliminated Greer Blitzer from this season of The Bachelor, the contestant returned to apologize again for her controversial posts about blackface

Defended: Blitzer came under fire shortly after she was announced as part of the cast, with a Reddit user digging up deleted tweets from 2016 where she defended someone using Blackface for a Halloween costume

Defended: Blitzer came under fire shortly after she was announced as part of the cast, with a Reddit user digging up deleted tweets from 2016 where she defended someone using Blackface for a Halloween costume

‘The truth is, as a franchise, we’ve done a very poor job in the past of addressing serious topics head-on, and we’re not going to miss that opportunity here tonight,’ Palmer said on the special.

‘I’ve been wanting to address this. I don’t want to sweep it under the rug. What happened was racist. It’s not about the intent; it’s about the impact,’ Blitzer said.

One of Blitzer’s deleted tweets from 2016 read, ‘The students involved didn’t even know what blackface was so my point exactly. It wasn’t an intentional racist act.’

She said in another deleted tweet, ‘This previous incident was dumb not racist? She did not paint herself black because she felt superior to black ppl.’ 

Blitzer admitted on Tuesday, ‘This acquaintance of mine that I knew performing blackface was racist, me defending it was racist, my ignorance was racist and I’m just so ashamed.’  

‘I’m just deeply sorry that I hurt the Black community. I can’t go back in time. All I can do is try to be better now and try to do better in my future,’ she added.

She added on the special that she has educated herself by studying various lectures and working with Dr. Kira Banks, a professor and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant who was in the audience for the special. 

‘I really wanted to dive deep into the history of blackface and understand why it was wrong, why it was offensive,’ Blitzer added.

Truth: 'The truth is, as a franchise, we’ve done a very poor job in the past of addressing serious topics head-on, and we’re not going to miss that opportunity here tonight,' Palmer said on the special

Truth: ‘The truth is, as a franchise, we’ve done a very poor job in the past of addressing serious topics head-on, and we’re not going to miss that opportunity here tonight,’ Palmer said on the special

Address: 'I’ve been wanting to address this. I don’t want to sweep it under the rug. What happened was racist. It’s not about the intent; it’s about the impact,' Blitzer said

Address: ‘I’ve been wanting to address this. I don’t want to sweep it under the rug. What happened was racist. It’s not about the intent; it’s about the impact,’ Blitzer said

Educating: She added on the special that she has educated herself by studying various lectures and working with Dr. Kira Banks, a professor and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant who was in the audience for the special

Educating: She added on the special that she has educated herself by studying various lectures and working with Dr. Kira Banks, a professor and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant who was in the audience for the special

‘The research that I was able to do, I realized it was symbolism for dehumanizing the Black community,’ Blitzer said. 

‘What I said was wrong. Defending that girl was racist. I want to take that accountability, I don’t want to excuse it,’ she admitted.

Blitzer’s ordeal was just the latest racially-fueled controversy Bachelor Nation has had to address over the past few years.

The last Bachelorette winner Erich Schwer came under fire when a high school yearbook photo showed him in blackface.

The Bachelor Season 25 featured another controversy when the ultimate winner Rachel Kirkconnell was pictured at an antebellum plantation-themed fraternity party. 

That controversy ultimately resulted in longtime Bachelor Nation host Chris Harrison stepping away from the franchise after he defended Kirkconnell in an interview conducted by the first Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay.

Lindsay’s own season in 2017 featured a racially-themed controversy when racist and sexist tweets from one of the contestants surfaced.

The Women Tell All special also revealed that Charity Lawson, who was eliminated on Monday’s episode, was named The Bachelorette for Season 20. 

Wrong: 'What I said was wrong. Defending that girl was racist. I want to take that accountability, I don’t want to excuse it,' she admitted

Wrong: ‘What I said was wrong. Defending that girl was racist. I want to take that accountability, I don’t want to excuse it,’ she admitted

Latest: Blitzer's ordeal was just the latest racially-fueled controversy Bachelor Nation has had to address over the past few years

Latest: Blitzer’s ordeal was just the latest racially-fueled controversy Bachelor Nation has had to address over the past few years

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