Steve, Katie keeps referencing that she’s going to rent her condo on social. But haven’t heard her mention where she’s moving. LA, Canada to be with Blake, elsewhere? Have you received info? All the signs point to CA based on what she’s posted.
Who were the two ladies in the previews? Blakes sister? And Katie’s sister? I know one was Blake’s sister. The other was definitely from Katie’s family though.
How are your niece and nephew? Olivia driving yet? She can drive you to Olive Garden soon…
Thanks for all your hard work sluthing!
Comment: Yes, she drives. It’s really bizarre. And she flys alone now. When we were in Vegas over Memorial Day wknd, she basically did her own thing. Walked the strip by herself a few times. Just turned 17. Time moves waaaaay too fast.
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Steve, I just listened to last week’s podcast with Dave and I thought it was fantastic! It is just so refreshing when you talk to someone who is such a rational thinker. The one thing that I find so frustrating with this whole “cancel culture” is that people just go into attack mode as if they are the most perfect human beings who have never made a mistake. I also completely agree with Dave that these types of things should be discussed and we should be happy when people make positive changes in the way that they think. I’ve been reading your column and listening to your podcasts and lives for a very long time. Therefore, the past two months have been very frustrating, seeing all these hateful messages online, and knowing that the people who are making them have never even listened to your podcast or lives. All of your loyal listeners know that you are a good person and have really evolved, as we all try to do as human beings. Anyone giving you crap about what happened with Demi needs to think about whether they have ever made any sort of sexual comment that was inappropriate. Considering the comments I have seen about Bridgerton ever since it came out, trust me, many people have made comments they may like to take back! It is simply that you are on such a public stage. I think it would be very interesting to go back to the live that you did with Demi. I cannot remember specific words that were said, but you two were extremely chummy on that live. So I just feel like people need to accept your apology and move on. It’s much, much easier for people who’ve already come out and attacked me to keep their narrative. Honestly, they don’t want to see I’ve changed and am doing better because then they have to do a 180 on their opinion. It’s much simpler to just continue to pile on rather than see/hope I’ve stood by my word and have made the changes necessary. Do you really think those people are gonna say, “Wow I was really hard on him when this all came about, but he’s definitely changed, he took ownership, and he’s trying to be better.” Very few.
I live in the Richmond area and there is a radio show called Elliot in the Morning. I absolutely love it, which surprises people, because Elliot is a bit naughty. But I think he is so balanced with his co-hosts, Tyler, who is so soft spoken, and Diane, but the comments that he makes about sex and women don’t seem to bother people as much as they could. I also think people simply don’t listen to him if they don’t like the way he speaks. (I just don’t take him seriously and roll my eyes at some of his comments! He is entertaining me on a radio show…it would be different if he was making some of the comments at the dinner table!)
The next time there is something really important to discuss in Bachelor nation, I would absolutely love it if you would have both Dave and your friend from Arie’s season (I have no idea why I am blanking on her name but I believe she’s getting a PhD and I know she has curly brown hair and is friends with Jenna!) I have loved your podcasts with her in the past and how thoughtfully she thinks about things. It would be so interesting to hear the three of you dissect a really important issue together.
I am so glad you will be watching Big brother tonight! And by the way, the pretty in Pink prom dress was absolutely horrific. I agree with you 100 percent.
Comment: Jacqueline. One of my favorite guests to have. She’ll be on again no doubt.
Lets just say Andie probably never made it in the fashion industry after high school. Just a hunch.
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Hi Steve
Why are Katie’s outfits so horrendously ugly? I mean , who styles her? The clothes are awful! Does she have a say in what she wears?
Comment: What they’ve put her in certainly haven’t been the most flattering outfits. But no, not all her call. She tells them what she likes, they make it up, but, they’re also dressing her for the location on some of the dates too. Hence that jeans, boots, plaid cowboy shirt get up on that one date. It’s not all on her though. Stylist Cary Fetman has taken shit for years dressing the leads of this show. This season is no different.
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Hi Steve,
I’ve been watching the bachelor and bachelorette series for years now, but just started getting into your column ever since the pandemic, during Peter Webber‘s season. I love your commentary on the show, and many of your reader emails are really interesting too. So I thought I’d contribute with a few questions I’ve had.
First off, I donated to your cause, the Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support, but will not be attending the Fan Appreciation party in Las Vegas. Can you tell us a bit more about the event – what to expect, what previous attendees have loved about it? Will we see bachelor stars there? Also, honestly I’m a bit disappointed the donation goal hasn’t been reached yet, especially given your high readership count and it sounds like a great cause. Are you surprised as well? Will you ask for donations at the party too? Want to make sure you hit your goal because I think your readers owe it to you to help out! You’ve provided so many great spoilers and it’s not easy doing what you do. First things first. Thank you for donating. Very cool that you are without going to the party. The party is just a thank you to my readers/listeners who support me through the years. I provide the venue, the open bar, the appetizers, and it’s just a way for people to come hang for a night in Vegas. We used to do Trivia to give away prizes, but that got too difficult with too many people and what not. So now it’s just a raffle to give away prizes.
No one from the “Bachelor” is attending this year I don’t believe. Only one in the past that has was Ashley Spivey and her husband in 2019. I honestly don’t really ask.
I wouldn’t worry about the donations. The thing with that is there’s still plenty of time, and, unless I constantly keep mentioning it, it gets forgotten. I think we’ll reach the goal. When I send the mass email out once the RSVP list is finalized, I will tell those attending again about it. I think that’s when we’ll achieve it.
Also something that shocks me is the low view count for the official Bachelor Nation YouTube channel for the Click Bait podcast and Mike and Bryan‘s podcast. I go to the Bachelor Nation YouTube channel for show highlights and clips, and noticed I’m one of the few people who actually watch the podcast videos. Why do you think viewership is so low? Do you think the audio-only version of the podcast has more listeners? I would’ve assumed these podcasts that are on the official Bachelor Nation channel and feature some well-known stars would get better viewership, than say Viall Files or Chatty Broads, but that isn’t the case. While the latter two shows have number of views in the tens of thousands, viewership on the official bachelor nation channel is in the hundreds or low thousands. Does this surprise you too? I haven’t seen those numbers but my guess is that it’s because it’s so much easier to download audio and listen to a podcast than sit and watch one for an hour.
Also thanks for having Dave Neal on your podcast! It is the only podcast that I’ve listen to from your channel (sorry), mostly because I’ve watched Dave’s videos on YouTube on many many occasions and am a big fan. I love that he has fresh daily content and I really like his perspective and generally agree with his take on things (I feel the same way about you too!) I like that he gives people the benefit of the doubt, because in this day and age, it’s almost too easy to be strongly negative and insulting to try and be “interesting” or controversial. He seems very level-headed and likable, and seems like he’s truly covering the show’s gossip mainly for the paycheck, not out of interest for the drama. I think this makes him a more objective commentator since he’s not as emotionally vested in the show’s drama. I like that! Glad I reached out to Dave, and if you haven’t seen it, I went on his YouTube last week. Check that out on his channel. Very in depth and interesting conversation I thought.
As for Katie’s season, this is the first time since the pandemic that I have decided to skip the show altogether. I watch the highlights on YouTube and still read your column on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but surprisingly have lost the urge to watch the show every Monday. Quite honestly, I think after so many back-to-back seasons, it’s just too much for me now. And from what I’ve seen in the highlights, I’m not particularly interested in the characters this season. However, I’m really excited for Paradise given your spoilers! I want to see how it all unfolds.
I’m also curious, what did you do before you turned your blog into a career? Just curious. I’d think this question has been asked before, but I’ve only been reading for the past 16 months or so… and have you ever considered having a YouTube channel? I’d definitely watch!
Comment: I was in sports talk radio in Los Angeles. It’s what I wanted to do with my career. Then I realized after a while that it wasn’t what I wanted to do once I was in it for a few years. I love sports. I love talking about sports. But in a public forum, with the explosion of social media – no thanks. There’s a reason “fan” is short for “fanatic.” You think people jump on you for saying something negative about a “Bachelor/ette” contestant? Just give a take about somebody’s favorite team and watch homerism at its finest come out. Or be a POC and miss penalty kicks for your country and see how tolerant they are (i.e. England this past weekend).
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Hi Steve,
I know you didn’t make it through the whole Nick Katie podcast episode, so you didn’t get to hear her answers to the silly personal questions at the end. She was asked to name four countries in Africa – and failed. She only got South Africa after a hint was given. I found that interesting for many reasons, including the fact of Blake’s Africa obsession and their conversation about it. Apparently she never bothered to look it up after the show ended to learn about this mysterious place Blake was obsessed with! Then she said the Lion King, Aladdin, and The Help were three of her top movies of all time. And she noted that her favorite Halloween costume was a Tinkerbell costume with a green bra because she wore it into a Thai restaurant and people stared at her. Along the way she trashed a number of people and made it seem like she’s spent most of her life partying and not thinking too long and hard about anything much.
My point is that she didn’t come across well (in my opinion anyway). It was like, here’s this person who’s not that thoughtful, not that knowledgeable, not even that nice, and she’s been elevated to a major platform and has this ability to influence people – all because she’s cute and went on a dating show where she said a handful of decent things that most normal people would say??
Do you think it’s a sign that our culture is heading into the gutter when people like this are elevated and celebrated in society over people of actual substance with something meaningful to say? Is ABC trying to turn us into a bunch of idiots, numbing our brains by enticing us with trash as we move ever closer to becoming a fallen empire?? Do you think production is upset that Katie is revealing this much about herself – that she allows herself to be seen as, for lack of a better word, kind of basic?
Also, what’s the deal with her character assassination of Thomas, a guy in all reality she barely knows. Look how she’s using her platform to dump all over him to her audience of thousands if not millions. Is that classy? When you consider that Katie had a huge TikTok following before going on the Bachelor, you have to wonder – is this a case of hating someone else because you see something you don’t like about yourself reflected back? Did Katie maybe think – hey, if I go on this dumb show, I’ll get more followers? Who knows. She shouldn’t be attacked for it if she did. That’s the only valid reason to go on a show like that and make a fool of yourself, other than for the fun of it.
I was on Reddit the other day, and a bunch of people from other countries were stereotyping all Americans based on Katie’s inability to name four countries in Africa. I can’t stand it when people stereotype over 300 million people based on one random woman’s comments, but it happens. A lot of Americans stereotype people from other places too, so it goes both ways.
On the other hand, the show is entertaining and mind numbing. It’s fun to check out and not worry about anything real for an hour or so. I’m a fan… kind of. The show is like a train wreck that’s hard to look away from. I just wish there were more interesting people on it. I don’t need them to all look perfect (by society’s standards anyway). I’d be more interested in their personalities and their interactions.
P.S. I just realized that I probably shouldn’t have sent that email because, well, I said some unkind things about Katie. I want to add that I obviously don’t know her, and she does have her charming moments on the show. I also thought she was brave to talk about sexual assault. Maybe she was a little drunk in the podcast interview or something – who knows. She was drinking during the interview, after all. This all goes without saying, but I didn’t want to be unfair. Personally, I’d never go on that show, and one of the main reasons is that I am really thin skinned and could never take the public criticism. I would definitely say stupid things under pressure. So – I don’t know. She doesn’t seem like someone I’d be friends with, but it’s always possible she has more depth than we give her credit for. Take that for whatever it’s worth. I stand by my comments about elevating the wrong people though. I guess until the public demands better, this is what we’re going to get.
Comment: This was kinda all over the place, but, I see that you maybe realized your ways with that PS. Katie is no different than any other contestant in the history of this show. Some people love her, some people can’t stand her. We can debate all day why she was chosen but it seems kinda pointless. Were there better choices from Matt’s season with more of a connection with the audience? I think so. But it doesn’t matter what I think. She got the gig, I think she’s done well so far and has opened up with personal stories more than any recent one I can remember. So in that aspect, she’s doing great I think.
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Hi Steve!
I had a thought and would love to hear your take/any knowledge you might have about the situation. We know Maurissa and Riley get engaged at the end. Riley wasn’t part of the original cast just released but Maurissa is. Considering this is the largest pool of contestants they’ve ever had to pick from in BIP history, it seems strange to me casting a night 1 girl at all, let alone as original cast. Is it possible she had a pre-existing relationship with Riley and they brought her on because of that? That would make sense to me that they wouldn’t cast Riley at first to create a storyline out of her dumping whoever gave her a rose the first rose ceremony or two for Riley when he comes on. Just wondering if what insight you might have here. Thanks!
Comment: I don’t know about any pre-existing relationship between them. Doesn’t mean they didn’t have one. I’m just saying I didn’t hear either way. And they cast night 1 people all the time on BIP. There’s always one or two that make in there, and yes, even first day. The very first season, Lacy Faddoul, was a night 1 girl from Juan Pablo’s season and ended up getting engaged.
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Hi
I am a long time reader of your site. I stopped watching The Batchelor but still have been reading your columns and listening to your podcasts. I really liked what you said in a recent podcast about the people piling on you are not your fans—-your fans (and I include myself in that), know that you changed a lot over the years. Just came here to say I give you a lot of credit for working through this and just knowing that you have many people standing by you.
I finally took your advice and my husband and I are watching 24 for the first time. We are half way through the third season—it is so good! Just wondering what your favorite season is? I’m hoping that it doesn’t go downhill as we get further along.
Thanks for entertaining me over the years
Comment: Oh you’re just getting started. Season 3 is kind of ironic to what’s happening in this country with the virus. Granted, the virus on that show was way more deadly as you’ll see in the last half of the season. But glad you’re liking it.
Universally, season 5 has always been praised as its best season. It won the Emmy for Best Drama, Best Actor, and Best Director after that season. So you have that to look forward to. Each season is subjective so it’s tough to say what I like might not be what you like. But if you like the format (which is what makes the show), then I think you’ll like all the seasons. Do some seasons have 3rd or 4th storylines that aren’t as good? Yes. Because when you have to account for every minute of the day, you have to have 3-5 storylines happening at the same time. And sometimes the lower end ones just aren’t great. Like Kim and the cougar in season 2 getting trapped in the woods with Johnny Drama from “Entourage” in his bomb shelter. That’s been the one that was most made fun of. But overall, that franchise absolutely still holds up today. I binge rewatched all the seasons last summer and sometimes how forget how innovative and good that show was. Enjoy it.
