Colton Underwood Blasts ‘Bachelor’ Franchise & Host Chris Harrison For Taking ‘Advantage’ Of Cassie Randolph
Colton Underwood said he will never feel comfortable working with the producers of The Bachelor again.
Two months after his split from Cassie Randolph, the former NFL player blasted the rose-filled reality franchise in a scathing new interview on Reality Steve’s podcast, available here.
Colton admitted that by the time his love journey aired on ABC — a season that heavily promoted his virginity at age 26 — he was on medication for social anxiety brought on by his newfound fame. As for how the aftermath of his journey played out, the former Bachelor star made it clear he has distanced himself from the entire franchise after finding out some “things.”
“There’s just been too many things that I’ve found out about, and that has happened, for me to feel comfortable working with them again on a professional level, not even personal,” he said, per E! News.
One of his biggest issues was with how things were handled when his now ex-girlfriend appeared on The Bachelor: Greatest Seasons – Ever! and was repeatedly grilled about their breakup. That appearance started an Instagram feud between Colton and Cassie, but the former Bachelor star told Reality Steve he was mad at producers, not his ex.
Colton said he appreciated that Cassie remained extremely “professional” and “quiet” about their breakup as she dodged host Chris Harrison’s relentless questions. He said he even texted to thank her for not spilling their private business on the update show despite the fact that she was “abused” by production.
“What bugged me was the fact that the show took advantage of her,” he explained.
“And then you have Chris Harrison pointing questions saying, ‘I sense you don’t want to make Colton mad or you’re afraid you’re going to upset Colton. It’s like, ‘No, Chris. I literally talked to her the morning of that interview. We’re good.’ Stop worrying about me or painting me to be this controlling or angry person. I’m not angry. If there’s anybody I’m upset about or upset with it’s you guys.”
Colton added that he’s “not in a good place” with The Bachelor these days so he wouldn’t have expected to be contacted for the update special.
Following her appearance on The Greatest Seasons – Ever! special last month, Cassie said she was “annoyed” and “irritated” by the edited version of the chat that was shown on TV. The speech therapist claimed she and Harrison talked about “a lot more” than her relationship with Colton, but it all was cut from the TV broadcast.
Things got ugly between the exes after Cassie’s interview. After Colton shared a cryptic post on Instagram, she fired back with accusations that he threatened to add a chapter about their breakup to his memoir.
Harrison has not yet publicly responded to Colton’s claims that the show took advantage of Cassie by grilling her as The Bachelor‘s cameras rolled.
