After watching so many of Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s suitors mock the Season 26 star of The Bachelor on the Monday, July 11th premiere of The Bachelorette, Clayton Echard and Susie Evans are trying to laugh it off, while still wincing at the repeated shade.
“As I saw the episode, I was very happy to just feel that I’m like, you know, ‘It’s not personal, it’s business,’ ” Clayton said in an Us Magazine interview, while quoting Matthew McConaughey. “And I’m happy with where I’m at today. I’m pushing the things I want to push on. I’m chasing my true purpose and passion in life, finally, for the first time, and I think through all the muck, and everything that I went through, here I am because of this entire environment . . . So as I saw the show, the episode and all of the attacks and the song, the choir — I’m gonna go chase down those parents — I honestly didn’t really get a reaction other than I just kind of laughed.”
During the premiere, Gabby and Rachel recalled Clayton falling in love with both of them — and Susie — during his season as The Bachelor, being intimate in the Fantasy Suite with both Rachel and Gabby, after which Susie sent herself home because Clayton’s being intimate with the other women was a deal breaker for her. At first Clayton asked the other two women to stay, only to ask them to leave when he realized he wanted to be with Susie. Clayton and Susie reconnected after filming wrapped and are now living together in Virginia.
Ay yi yi! Most convoluted Bachelor finale EVER! Clayton‘s season may truly have been as dear, departed Chris Harrison was so fond of saying, “The MOST DRAMATIC BACHELOR FINALE EVER!”
While Rachel and Gabby certainly made references to Clayton on Monday, their suitors threw tons of shade: one called him a “piece of s—t,” another joked about being in love with three women and a third brought a choir of children singing “Clayton Sucks” (their parents should be so proud).
“Clayton handled it better, overall, than I did. I was annoyed,” Susie said. “Like come on. Clayton has given, you know, he can laugh at himself and I can laugh at Clayton . . . And I can laugh at myself. But also, my fear is, like, ‘Does this open the floodgates back up of all the hate and stuff?’ So that’s where I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, really?’ But Clayton, definitely was, like, going with the flow . . . He was able to laugh.”
The Missouri native clarified that he was “about to find light in it,” but doesn’t necessarily think that the repeated jabs needed to be highlighted during the episode.
“Do I think [that is] what should have been shown? I mean, no. I do think it was cyberbullying or an attack or it’s going to lead to cyberbullying,” Clayton said. “And so for that, I’m not the biggest fan of how that was shown, but it was and like you said, it’s just the nature of the beast. I’m [not] gonna lose sleep over this point anymore.”
Clayton explained, If I start giving more power to people that have no interest in my passions and they’re gonna try to just pull me off this path that I’m now on and I’m full steam ahead on, to me it’s as simple as just ignore it. Let it pass because . . . I’m not going to give people power that should have no power over me.”
RELATED: Clayton Echard Seemingly Admits He Was Told To Keep Shanae Ankney On The Bachelor
Meanwhile, during the time the episode was airing, Susie took to TikTok, lip-syncing to Will Smith’s infamous “Keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth” quote from the 2022 Oscars. Super classy, Susie. (In March, the actor came under fire for slapping Chris Rock for joking about Jada Pinkett Smith’s apparently shaved head amid her struggle with alopecia.)
Susie also replied to a Twitter user’s suggestion that the couple make a video dancing to the choir. “On it,” she wrote.
RELATED: Clayton Echard “Embarrassed And Disgusted” By His Actions On The Bachelor
Rather than adding more fuel to the fires of possible cyberbullying, wouldn’t Clayton and Susie be better off just ignoring all the hoopla and getting on with their lives? By making TikTok videos and responding to Twitter comments, they’re only fanning the flames of notoriety. Let those flames die.
TELL US- DO YOU THINK CLAYTON AND SUSIE ARE BEING BULLIED BY ALL THE MENTIONS ON THE BACHELORETTE? DO YOU THINK CLAYTON AND SUSIE ARE BETTER OFF FIGHTING BACK OR JUST LETTING IT ALL DIE DOWN?
[Photo Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin]
