The Bachelor season 23 lead Colton Underwood came out as gay, but the fans are upset that his interview with Good Morning America completely ignored the stalking claims from Cassie Randolph and the subsequent restraining order that she filed against him. For a love story that seemed to come straight out of a fairytale, Colton and Cassie's relationship after they finished filming The Bachelor was reportedly nothing but a nightmare. It all started when the lead, who identified as a very religious man and had kept himself a virgin until marriage, did not propose to Cassie at the season 23 finale.
While Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph did stay together for some time after their season of The Bachelor wrapped, the couple kept pushing all of their wedding plans, and then ultimately broke up in May 2020. The fans were shocked to hear the news, but as time went on, it became clearer and clearer to everyone that something way more ominous was going on between them. In September 2020, Cassie filed a restraining order against Colton, alleging that he physically stalked her, harassed her via text messages from a burner phone, and planted a tracking device inside her car.
Today, The Bachelor star Colton Underwood came out as gay during an interview with Good Morning America. But while Bachelor Nation is happy to see him stepping into his truth and accepting who he is, many fans have brought up how Cassie Randolph was largely ignored as a topic in his GMA interview. As seen in the tweets included below, many fans and celebrities are happy for Colton's coming out but also upset by the fact that he wasn't asked to directly address the stalking charges - and the restraining order - that Cassie filed against him.
This reaction from Bachelor Nation became even louder after reports came out that Colton Underwood had already landed a brand-new series with Netflix that would document his story before, during, and after coming out as a gay man. The fans are concerned that Colton is being given a "pass" for his past behavior and is subsequently trying to erase his actions without directly addressing them. And even LGTBQIA+ media personalities are cautioning others that the celebration of one's coming out story shouldn't erase that person's mistakes, which clearly affected Cassie to the extent that she filed a restraining order.
Hopefully, Colton will take the time to directly address what happened with Cassie and will do the work to make amends on that. The media should also make room for Cassie to talk about her own post-The Bachelor experience and tell her side of the story, which is just as relevant as Colton's coming out. All things considered, any person of any sexual orientation should still be held accountable for past allegations related to stalking and harassment