Bachelor Nation favorite Demi Burnett has apologized after images of her wearing a jacket bearing the Confederate flag emerged earlier this week.
The reality star, 25, used Twitter to explain herself on Monday night, telling people she ‘royally f***ed up’ and was ‘ignorant’ to ‘not pay attention’ to the symbol on her jacket, which was from Kanye West’s Yeezy brand.
Demi addressed the drama head on, explaining how she chose to set the record straight despite the fact her ‘PR team would’ve told me to ignore it and act like it didn’t happen.’
‘…That doesn’t sit right with me,’ she went on. ‘I’m very sorry for my ignorance.’
Pleading ignorance: Demi Burnett of Bachelor Nation apologized for wearing a jacket bearing the Confederate flag in recently resurfaced images online
She started off the pair of videos saying: ‘So there’s been this picture that’s been resurfaced of me wearing a jacket that had a Confederate flag on it.’
‘The jacket was given to me by my ex — his dad, actually, gave it to me — and I had no idea like the weight that the Confederate flag held whenever I was wearing it.’
‘And I just wore it for that one night, it was a Yeezy jacket, I thought it was so cool, I was like, “Yeah, Yeezy!” And I didn’t even like pay attention to that. That’s ignorance. That’s ignorant of me not to pay attention to the Confederate flag.’
The jacket’s designer Kanye West explained why he used the flag back in 2013, telling Los Angeles radio station 97.1 it was meant to provoke a reaction.
‘React how you want. Any energy is good energy,’ the Yeezus rapper explained.
‘You know the Confederate flag represented slavery in a way, that’s my abstract take on what I know about it. So I made the song New Slaves. So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It’s my flag. Now what are you going to do?’
Not okay: The reality star, 25, used Twitter to explain herself on Monday night, telling people she ‘royally f***ed up’ and was ‘ignorant’ to ‘not pay attention’ to the symbol on her jacket, which was from Kanye West’s Yeezy brand
Addressing the issue: Demi addressed the drama head on, explaining how she chose to set the record straight despite the fact her ‘PR team would’ve told me to ignore it and act like it didn’t happen’
Explanation: Demi said she was ‘disgusted’ with herself for wearing the hateful symbol without any thought, saying ‘I’m just so f****** sorry because that is not what I stand for, that is not what I’m about. And I’m really mad that I ever wore it’
‘So like, yeah, I royally f***** up wearing that,’ Burnett continued.
‘And I am so f****** sorry. Like, I’m disgusted with myself. I’m embarrassed. It doesn’t even matter how I feel. I’m just so f****** sorry because that is not what I stand for, that is not what I’m about. And I’m really mad that I ever wore it.’
She continued to reflect on her poor behavior in the past, saying: ‘I’ve been an ignorant, self-absorbed, sack of s*** for most of my life.’
‘Cause I f****** suck. And I really f****** hate myself, like, for being ignorant. Cause this is the time to change the world, make it better, and I made it worse. So I’m really, really sorry.’
Controversial: The jacket’s designer Kanye West (seen in 2013 above) explained why he used the flag back in 2013, telling Los Angeles radio station 97.1 ‘React how you want. Any energy is good energy’
Sabbatical: Demi’s apology comes after longtime host of The Bachelor franchise, Chris Harrison, announced he would be ‘stepping aside’ after making comments ‘excusing historical racism’ while defending current season contestant Rachel Kirkconnell
Demi’s apology comes after longtime host of The Bachelor franchise, Chris Harrison, announced he would be ‘stepping aside’ after making comments ‘excusing historical racism.’
He said that he’s ‘ashamed’ of how ‘uninformed’ he was while defending contestant Rachel Kirkconnell over accusations of racist bullying as well as photos from a plantation-themed party she attended in college.
‘I have no one to blame but myself for what I said and the way I spoke,’ he shared on Instagram.
‘By excusing historical racism, I defended it. I invoked the term “woke police,” which is unacceptable. I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong.’
Apology tour: Kirkconnell a front-runner in Matt James’ current season – also offered an apology on her Instagram, writing: ‘While there have been rumors circulating, there have also been truths that have come to light that I need to address’
Kirkconnell – a front-runner in Matt James’ current season – also offered an apology on her Instagram, writing: ‘While there have been rumors circulating, there have also been truths that have come to light that I need to address. I hear you, and I’m here to say I was wrong.’
‘At one point, I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn’t excuse them. My age or when it happened does not excuse anything. They are not acceptable or okay in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist.’
‘I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended. I am ashamed about my lack of education, but it is no one’s responsibility to educate me.
‘I am learning and will continue to learn how to be antiracist, because it’s important to speak up in the moment and not after you’re called out.’
