Born in Alabama, Hannah Brown is in hot water again because of her racial insensitivity on social media.
The former “Bachelorette” star – who was spotted in May 2020 for saying the N-word in an Instagram Live video – recently deleted an Instagram photo in which she is wearing a Southern Belle outfit.
In the photo, taken in May 2013, Brown showed up during a presentation ceremony for the Tuscaloosa Belles, a service organization for high school girls affiliated with the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society.
Dresses that evoke the Old South – with hoop dresses, pantalettes and petticoats – appear to be standard for Tuscaloosa Belles during the ceremony Brown attended in 2013, as well as for parades, the annual Dickens Downtown event in Northport and other public performances.
People who support such costumes say that it is a nod to southern traditions and heritage and a way to preserve history. But critics say the outfits glorify the south of the antebellum and celebrate plant culture while ignoring the horrors of slavery.
The photo of Brown as a Southern caller – and her removal from it on Instagram – was shared by observers such as @ TeaAndRoses21 on Twitter, amid a Bachelor Nation controversy over racism in the franchise and another Southern Belle image.
Although Brown is not at the center of the current controversy, she has become part of the aftermath. This is what happened there:
Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant on ‘The Bachelor’ this season, is one of four women staying on the show hoping to forge a romantic relationship with Matt James. He is the first black starring role on ‘The Bachelor’ in the history of the series.
Kirkconnell, who is white, made headlines earlier this month when photos appeared on Reddit showing her in Southern Belle attire at a plantation-themed fraternity formal in 2018. TikTok users also found evidence that the Georgian indigenous population of social media keep sharing with the flag of the Confederacy and QAnon conspiracy theories.
The controversy intensified when a “Bachelor” presenter Chris Harrison appeared in the program “Extra”, and Kirkconnell defended in a conversation with Rachel Lindsay, a former participant in the “Bachelor” and the first black lead role in the Bachelorette history. Harrison said, among other things, that Kirkconnell was a victim of the ‘awake police’ and the formal formation she attended was a long time ago.
During the “Extra” conversation, Lindsay said Kirkconnell’s presence in the photos of the Old South was “not a good look.”
“Rachel, is this a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021?” Ask Harrison. Lindsay said, “It never looks good.”
Harrison’s interview with Lindsay provoked an intense backlash among fans of ‘Bachelor’ and caused a #FireChrisHarrison hashtag on social media. In response, Harrison twice apologized and in the second apology announced that he was stepping down until further notice of the program. He has hosted ‘The Bachelor’ since the series debuted in 2002.
“I’ve been listening to the pain my words have caused for the past few days, and I’m very sorry,” Harrison wrote. “My ignorance harmed my friends, colleagues and strangers. I have no one else to blame myself for what I said and the way I spoke. I set standards for myself and do not meet them. I feel it with every fiber of my being. Just as I taught my children to stand up and possess their deeds, I will do the same. By apologizing for historical racism, I defended it. I called the term ‘awake police’, which is unacceptable. I’m ashamed of how uninformed I was. I was so wrong. ”
Meanwhile, Kirkconnell posted a statement on Instagram apologizing for her behavior and ‘truths that came to light’.
“At one point, I did not realize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that did not excuse them,” Kirkconnell wrote. “They are in no way acceptable or good. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist … I hope I can earn your forgiveness through my future actions. ‘
More fallout: After the controversial interview with Harrison, Lindsay said she would not renew her contract with ‘The Bachelor’ franchise. She hosts a Bachelor Nation podcast and makes appearances during several seasons in different seasons. In fact, Lindsay said she was frustrated with the show and tired of pushing to make it more racist.
“I’m tired. I’ve really had enough,” Lindsay said on the February 12 episode of her podcast for The Ringer, “Higher Learning” with Van Lathan.
And there is more.
On February 15, Lindsay and Lathan participated in an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit to answer fan questions. During the discussion, one participant mentions that Brown took a Southern Belle photo from her Instagram and asks, ‘Did she at least reach out to you? Thoughts on her ‘growing and learning’ since her apology last year? ”
(Brown has twice apologized for using the N-word in her 2020 video, with a short written statement and an 18-minute video, both on Instagram.)
Lindsay replies: ‘Wait seriously? This is why actions speak louder than words. That’s why we’re having an awkward conversation and it could have really been a great learning moment. We can not continue on a path to pretend that things did not happen or to run away from them. We do not ‘learn and grow’ from it. ”
Lindsay also said Brown’s comments on the current ‘Bachelor’ controversy – the Kirkconnell and Harrison case – have a lack of content. ‘ Brown more or less addressed the issue in an Instagram Stories video posted on February 12th.
“I caught up and read all the events in Bachelor Nation, and Lord knows I made mistakes,” Brown said. ‘But I have learned over the last year that we must be confronted where we have fallen short if we are to continue. And it is so important that we exalt, listen and appreciate and encourage under representative voices. We just need to be better and help my responsibility to develop so much, and I’m still not a perfect person, but I’m still committed to the job. And I am so humble and very grateful that I was on this journey and could only hope that I encourage others to go on journey as well. ”
Brown has remained silent so far about the Southern Belle photo on her Instagram and did not explain why she removed it.