We have a new “Bachelorette,” and her name is Clare Crawley. A lot to discuss when it comes to this decision, her age, the men they’re casting, etc. But first lets go back to last week because this needs to be addressed. And it needs to be addressed so everyone can understand exactly how this all came about. You saw me last week tweet and post on my IG a screen shot from a private Facebook group where someone wrote that Clare was going to be named the Bachelorette on Ellen this week. I did not blur out this person’s name, Dede Huber, because there was no need to. If Dede Huber is gonna come out and make a statement like that, something that at the time last week, was breaking news in this franchise, and she wants her name attached to it, then you have to live with the consequences. If Dede would’ve said, “I’m hearing rumors it’s Clare” or “I heard from someone who knows someone’s daughter that it’s Clare,” I would not have posted that screen shot. That’s not what Dede Huber wrote. Dede Huber wrote IN ALL CAPS that “CLARE CRAWLEY IS OFFICIALLY GOING TO BE THE BACHELORETTE!” This was last Wednesday.
I addressed this at the beginning of last week’s podcast bc it had just come out the night before. This was the first I’d heard of it. I had no idea if it was true or not, but because Dede Huber decided to not report it as rumor, but as fact, and attach her name to it, putting it out there like I did was fair game. Just like anything I post is attributed to me. If I say “I’m hearing” or “rumors are,” you’ll know because I specify that. After I posted that last Wednesday, I cannot tell you how many people from that Facebook group jumped down my throat for not blacking out Dede Huber’s name from the screenshot. Sorry, doesn’t work that way. You state something as fact, something as big as breaking who the “Bachelorette” is going to be before anyone else, AND you attach your name to it, then it’s on you to take responsibility for it. As for the fact it was in a private Facebook group? Again, it’s breaking news that NO ONE HAD POSTED YET. Just because it was in a private Facebook group doesn’t mean it won’t get shared. And when at least 20 people sent me a screen shot of Dede Huber’s post within minutes of it going up in that group, how private of a group are you anyway? Not very if you ask me. It’s totally ignorant to think because you post something in a private Facebook group that it won’t spread. Especially when it’s news in Bachelor Nation that’s as big as that.
So Friday rolls around, and ABC makes a social media post that the next “Bachelorette” will be announced on Monday (yesterday) on “Good Morning America.” So already, half of what Dede Huber posted was wrong since she said it would be announced on Ellen (which is weird since Ellen isn’t live and taped a day early, so it would’ve gotten out before it aired), so of course, people have a right to call into question if her other half is wrong. When Dede Huber posted that last Wednesday, it was the first I’d heard of it. When ABC posted Friday that the “Bachelorette” announcement was coming Monday on GMA, since I figured that announcement wouldn’t come til the ATFR, I went to work and asked around what people were hearing. This is the first I’ve heard in my 10 years of spoiling that Dede Huber posted a spoiler. I didn’t know who she was before last Wednesday. I don’t get my spoilers from Dede Huber. So naturally, I asked around to my sources after Friday on who they were hearing was gonna be announced as the “Bachelorette” on Monday. I was told it was Clare, and I tweeted that out on Saturday.
Why am I constantly mentioning Dede Huber’s name these last three paragraphs? Because after it became “official” yesterday, all these same crazies from that private Facebook group who couldn’t wait to fire off hate towards me for posting Dede Huber’s name last Wednesday are now all screaming at me that I didn’t credit Dede with breaking the news. I’m seeing there’s even #JusticeforDede hashtags being created now. Wait, what? You can’t bitch at me for not blurring out Dede’s name, then in the same breath after it’s official that it was Clare, yell at me again for not crediting Dede. Sorry. You can’t have it both ways. How do these people not see this? Not to mention, it’s not like I ever took down the post Dede made. On Wednesday, I put it out there and said “This is what someone is reporting.” After Friday, I did my own sourcing, got it confirmed it was Clare from a very reliable source, and posted Saturday it would be Clare. There was still PLENTY of rumor and speculation spreading over the weekend that it’d be Tayshia, or Kelsey, or Tia. But my sources told me this specifically, “Don’t listen to any of those other names. It’s Clare.” So I didn’t and posted what I did and that source ended up coming through.
Yes, Dede Huber ended up being right in the long run. But you gotta understand something about how this all works. Anyone can say anything on a website, comment section, social media, etc. And then after the fact claim “See, I said it here first.” And that’s great. Dede Huber was able to say it was Clare before anyone else. But I’m sorry, if you don’t have a website, or a podcast, or a track record of any sort and you say something to that effect breaking news like she did, you have to know that people aren’t just automatically going to take it as truth. That’s just common sense. It’s no knock on Dede Huber, but no one knew who she was before last Wednesday. That’s just a fact. And unless I’m missing something, I don’t think she ever spoiled anything in this franchise before. Since Wednesday, she’s deleted her Facebook account, so this may just be a one time thing. I hope that gives a better understanding of how things went down last week and that at no point did I ever “steal” or “not credit” Dede. Her post is still on my Twitter. I acknowledged her and even said that her info was news to me. And then I mentioned her name 1000 more times today. Is that better? But the bottom line is I don’t get my info from her. I went to my sources and got it confirmed, since we had no idea where this info was coming from, if it was true or not, and what Dede’s claim was based on. I think we’ll all see come next week how “I have info this season” is so easy to say without repercussion when I roll out pretty much all the things I’ve been told since November on how this season ends up.
