Chad Johnson came onto JoJo’s season of The Bachelorette with a pocket full of sliced deli meat and plenty of mischief in his heart. Until he was eliminated, Chad proceeded to cajole and poke every other contestant (minus Daniel, of course) into hating him, and honestly? I always thought Chad relished it. He drew his power from their ire like Samson and his long, lustrous locks. A stint on Bachelor In Paradise in which he called out Chris Harrison for drinking mimosas in a robe (not untrue, I’m sure), Chad is back. Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After attempted to stage a Chad intervention, and I don’t think Chad is really sorry for anything.
One producer-arranged camping trip is really all it takes to bring Ben, Lauren, and the rest of their friends — former Bachelor Chris Soules (aka the dad of the trip), the Ferguson twins, and Lace Morris and Grant Kemp — into a frenzied mess. Besides the fact that no one could set up a tent and I feel like none of the cast on the camping trip knew what nature is, it was all going fine. Then, Ben told everyone Chad was invited, and hell broke loose. As Chad walked in through the bush whistling a sinister tune, I immediately landed on Team Chad, and here is why — he confirmed that he does this all for a laugh. Chad is trolling everyone, you guys. Lace was crying about Chad’s behavior, and Chad was like, “I literally do this to get a rise out of you.” Ben made him “apologize” for his prior antics, but I hope that Chad didn’t really mean it. He doesn’t need to mean it. Oh, and it was also really crummy that Grant kept bringing up Chad's mom, who died last year. That's just mean.
Part of being in this Bachelor machine is the need to differentiate yourself from the other borings in the group. Hundreds of people have been on the show, and to be remembered, you need a brand. Being mean is Chad’s brand! It’s his thing, and it’s fine. To force Chad to apologize for wreaking havoc is like forcing a lion to apologize for chomping on a gazelle. It’s instinct, and it’s just way too easy for them.
Images: Rick Rowell/ABC; Giphy
