Last week, Clare Crawley caused a kerfuffle when she seemingly subtweeted “Bachelorette” contestant Matt James for allegedly not doing the show for the right reasons. He defended himself. So did she after getting backlash. It was awkward. And naturally, it had Bachelor Nation wondering if James, who’s the BFF of “Bachelorette” runner-up Tyler Cameron, will still be on the postponed season.
“As far as I know, [he’ll still be a contestant]. I mean, I have not heard anything different,” Harrison told “Entertainment Tonight,” adding that it was up to James if he wants to appear. “I mean, I don’t know if he wants to do this after quarantine, who knows? But as far as I know, yes.”
James is one of the original 32 men cast for Season 16 of “The Bachelorette,” but because nothing was filmed before the lockdown, the show has been undergoing recasting in preparation for whenever production could start, which producers are hoping will be the summer. Though you’d be hard-pressed to believe TPTB would let James go after this fracas.
SEE Clare Crawley seemingly shaded ‘Bachelorette’ contestant Matt James, and RIP her mentions
Crawley sparked drama on April 25 when she tweeted: “If you are doing interviews and creating Cameo accounts before you are even on my season… you are in it for the wrong reasons… #dontwasteyourtime. Respect the opportunity you’ve been given. Respect the rules. Respect me. @BacheloretteABC.”
Fans quickly came to the defense of James, who in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic had created a Cameo account and had been doing press for various charities, including his own, ABC Food Tours. The proceeds from his Cameos are going to charity, which he reiterated in an Instagram Story clearly in response to Crawley’s tweets. Crawley later walked back her comments, claiming that they were about multiple men, though the only one who has done interviews is James; another contestant, former NFL player Dale Moss, is on Cameo.
Harrison backed Crawley, saying that the hairstylist is “not mad at Matt,” but was upset that not everyone was respecting the rules she has to adhere to as the Bachelorette.
“First of all, everyone relax about the whole charity thing. Clare’s not against charity, she’s not against Matt doing charity. That’s fantastic and Matt, good on you for doing something during this quarantine that’s positive. But with that said, she’s not specifically talking about Matt, she’s just saying she’s living under a certain set of guidelines and rules because she’s the Bachelorette. She’s kind of already in our family, and she’s been respecting that,” Harrison said. “These guys aren’t living under those guidelines, because they’re not really part of our thing yet. And so they’re out living their life, and they’re kind of using having been picked to be on ‘The Bachelorette’ as a bit of a bouncing point… so I think she’s just like, ‘Look, I wish everybody would respect the rules. We all play by the same rules, so when you come in, there is a sense of innocence and naiveté and we can actually got through this.'”
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