Airing out my grievances with The Bachelorette
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northeastern chapter.
It was 2 a.m., and I was raging while watching the finale of “The Bachelorette” season 21. I understand that reality shows need to have drama to keep viewers engaged, but the way Jenn Tran was treated was unacceptable and highly disrespectful.
I had never watched any shows in “The Bachelor” franchise before season 21 of “The Bachelorette,” Jenn Tran’s season. Seeing how she was the first Asian-American bachelorette and is from my hometown, I felt it was time to start watching the show to support her.
Throughout the season, I felt my interest waning with each new episode, but I kept watching since I was becoming invested in Jenn’s journey.
I was not a big fan of most of the suitors, and the ones I liked — Grant, Dylan, Spencer and Jeremy — got sent home. I thought Marcus was a great fit, but after allegations surfaced claiming that he mistreated women in the past, I was thrown off. I had not particularly been a fan of Devin throughout the season, but as I watched the finale, his actions sparked a newfound loathing.
During the final episode, as “The Bachelorette” host Jesse Palmer began to interview Jenn about her journey, Jenn could not get a single word out before she started crying. The entire audience, Jesse and her family had to look on while she just sat there in tears. I can only imagine how livid her friends and family must have felt, helplessly watching her cry on national television. I wanted to jump through the screen, give her a hug and pull her out of there.
Jesse had even said during the show that Jenn had been really emotional backstage. Who in their right mind thought, “okay, she’s clearly in extreme emotional distress, so let’s let her go on stage now?”
While she was crying, she was forced to recount the story of how her ex-fiancé, Devin, started pulling back from her after the engagement and eventually broke up with her over a 15-minute phone call. At one point, Jesse said, “Devin always spoke so passionately about you,” and I thought, “well, it’s easy to fake it for the camera when you’re putting on a show, isn’t it?“
When Jesse asked Jenn if she was ready to see Devin again, despite the fact that she said, “I don’t know,” Devin was still brought out and Jenn was forced to sit next to him. While Jenn began to air out her grievances surrounding all the ways that Devin had mistreated her, he continued to gaslight her by saying phrases like, “Everything I felt for you was real” or “I was very honest with you.” He spoke down to her at times, trying to make himself seem like the good guy. I was horrified.
Jenn was forced to watch her engagement — one of the happiest moments of her life — right next to the man who had destroyed her in so many ways. When Jesse asked if she was ready to watch the engagement again, through tears and distress, Jenn asked, “Do I have a choice?” The fact that she was forced through all of this emotional turmoil for entertainment is simply dehumanizing.
I understand that the producers are the ones who help create the drama and decide the storylines, and Jesse most likely had no choice but to follow their instructions for the sake of keeping his job. However, even a small pat on Jenn’s shoulder or some emotional empathy would have been nice to see. I was greatly disappointed, as I had been a fan of Jesse throughout the rest of the season.
It seems that Jenn is doing better now — after all, she’s on “Dancing With the Stars” and has been posting quite a lot with another one of her suitors, Jonathon Johnson, who I was a fan of during the season. However, the emotional agitation she experienced on the show will probably haunt her for years to come.
“The Bachelorette” must do better.
<p>The post Airing out my grievances with The Bachelorette first appeared on Her Campus.</p>
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