'The Bachelorette's Justin Glaze Apologized For His "Hurtful" Tweets
"The last thing that I want to do is run from it."
OK, this feels like déjà vu. Bachelor Nation is at the center of another social media controversy, but they’re focusing on accountability this time. (I love to see it!) The Bachelorette’s Justin Glaze apologized for his past “ignorant and hurtful” tweets during a July 12 episode of the Bachelor Nation podcast ‘Bachelor Happy Hour.’ The 27-year-old artist appeared on the podcast to discuss his relationship with Katie Thurston, but first he needed to apologize for his past tweets, which were uncovered on Reddit earlier that week.
The offensive tweets included homophobic slurs and colorist comments about Black women. (Elite Daily reached out to ABC for comment on Glaze’s tweets and did not hear back in time for publication.) They were written about a decade ago when Glaze was between the ages of 14 and 16, but the 27-year-old doesn’t want people to use that timeline to defend him. "What I said was ignorant and hurtful then [and ] it's ignorant and hurtful now,” he explained. Instead of making excuses, Glaze wanted to focus on taking accountability.
On the podcast, Glaze explained that he “genuinely appreciate[d] the opportunity” to apologize for these tweets. When podcast hosts and Bachelorette alumni Becca Kufrin and Tayshia Adams invited him to speak about the situation, he was ready with a detailed apology. “As I reflect on everything I just went through with this whole journey, oftentimes, people ask me what I took from it. And one of the biggest takeaways for me was just my personal growth, and one of those things is being able to hold myself accountable, which is something that historically I wasn't able to do,” Glaze explained. “So, I have no issue with owning up and apologizing from the bottom of my heart for the really hurtful words that I used.”
“The last thing that I want to do is run from it. That's not who I am. I just want to speak from the heart, and hopefully, people will get an understanding of where I was then versus where I am now,” Glaze said, before explaining exactly who he was at the time of the tweets. “When I look back at 14-year-old Justin, I was in high school and quite frankly I was the type of person who for whatever reason felt the need to fit in and say funny things and keep up with what my peers were doing and saying. The folks I had associated with would throw around really hurtful slurs that, at the time, I didn't really think anything of.”
Glaze reiterated that the words still hold weight despite how many years have passed. "No matter how long it was, those words shouldn't have come out of my mouth," he added. "I'm obviously in a much different place now, over a decade later as a 27-year-old and I can look back and be ashamed of the words that I used ... I know as I've matured and evolved and grown as a person, I'm a totally different version of Justin than I was."
Now, Glaze said that he would never repeat those words. "I know those words would never come out of my mouth, because I know the weight that they carry, no matter what context they're used in. I understand how much allyship and support those groups that I offended need," he explained.
During the episode, Kufrin and Adams both accepted Glaze’s apology, but emphasized how much weight certain words hold. (Notably, the duo focused more on the fact that he offended the LGBTQ community without explicitly mentioning his remarks about Black women.) Thurston, for her part, hasn’t commented on the situation yet, but she did share news of the podcast episode on her IG Story — perhaps hoping more people would take a listen and forgive Glaze?
And although it’s up to the people Glaze offended to decide whether or not they accept his apology, one thing’s for sure: Taking accountability is always the right move. (Take notes, Bachelor Nation!)
