'The Bachelor's Corinne Responds To Her Haters

It wouldn't be a true season of The Bachelor without fans quickly picking out which contestant could be the villain of that season. And it seems as though they may have pegged Corinne Olympios as The Bachelor villain of Season 21 — and she's already provided the perfect response to those haters who think of her as such. But, first, some background. If you were watching the Jan 8 installment of The Bachelor, then you likely saw Corinne's forward flirtations towards Bachelor Nick Viall.

Taking part in a bridal photo shoot with him, she shocked the other contestants when she took off her top and placed Viall's hands on her bare breasts. In what felt like a classically shady Bachelor move, she then took Viall aside to enjoy three separate one-on-one sessions during the cocktail party. Which, as fans can attest, is the quickest way to attract enemies in and out of the Bachelor house.

Though she's attracted some criticism for her actions, Corinne has responded to haters via an Instagram post featuring a stern statement of defense for herself. She explained,

I was confident and I was me. Yes I seemed a bit aggressive in last nights episode but I've been through a lot in my life and I did not want any time wasted.

She also went on to crucially remind those being hateful towards her on social media that she's "only human," and made the following suggestion, "If I bother you that much please just don't look at my social media and keep the mean comments to yourself."

All of which, I think, is a powerful and important statement to put out there into the world and particularly with as much pride and confidence as Corinne has done. We can all be guilty of getting a little carried away with the stirring experiences of reality TV, and programs all too often make it easy for fans to position particular stars as being the heroes or villains of the particular show.

But the truth is that we don't know these people, and we're only experiencing a tiny fraction of their overall story. With that in mind, how can any of us judge them so harshly?

But also, though her behavior was extremely forward and nontraditional, it definitely isn't something that Corinne deserves to be shamed for. At the end of the day, she's clearly a woman who knows what she wants and is comfortable and confident enough in herself to go after it.

So, sure. Boo her all you want from the comfort of your couch; it's basically what reality TV was invented for. But, villain or not, Corinne and every other reality TV star deserves better than to be scolded or shamed on social media for their behavior.