'Bachelorette' Hannah Brown on the double standard of sex on the show
"If I want to make out with a guy, I’m going to make out with them," she said.
Hannah Brown not only sent Luke P. home last week, but also told him she had been intimate in her pursuit of finding "the one" on the show after he asked for her physical commitment to only him.
And not only did she tell the domineering Luke that she has had sex -- she also told him, "Jesus still loves me."
Now, the pageant queen and reality star, 24, says she's been shamed by both Luke and show fans on social media since the episode aired, and she's had enough.
"I sit with people who know me the most and think, 'How have I become the sex girl?' Like, I had only kissed five guys and I had sex with my two long relationship boyfriends," Brown told People magazine. "It wasn't like I was what anybody would call 'promiscuous.' And then now I've been slut-shamed for it."
Hannah says the shaming began way before this week's very dramatic episode. It even happened when she kissed competitors on the show, something that the Bachelor and Bachelorette have always done that viewers have seen for years.
"It's just not OK because this show is about trying to find a husband and a part of a relationship, a marriage, is physical intimacy," she told People. "And if I want to make out with a guy, I'm going to make out with them."
She added, "We've got to change the language of how women speak to women and how men speak to women and how we shame them for the decisions that we make."
The double standard of being intimate and talking about sex on the reality show was discussed earlier this week on "Strahan and Sara," as Keke Palmer welcomed past stars Nick Viall and Rachel Lindsay on set.
Viall agreed that "Hannah killed it, she stood up for herself ... you can have a faith-based life and not shame people."
He said it's not OK for fans to criticize Hannah for having sex or admitting it on the show.
"Hannah has been a great role model for young women," he said.
"What's funny is, no one ever brought up the guys," Palmer added. "The woman is always wrong for being a sexual being."
Lindsay said it's such a shame that she, Hannah and other women have had to endure this double standard when they are just being human.
"On behalf of Christians, Luke P., I don't want you to be the representative for us," she said. "Do not speak for us in that manner."
"The Bachelorette" continues this Monday night with "Men Tell All."