Heavy DWTS champion Kaitlyn Bristowe explains "mic drop" video.
“Dancing with the Stars” champion Kaitlyn Bristowe frequently posts on her social media pages, and her content ranges from quirky to fun to sad. Sometimes, her posts do not land with DWTS or Bachelor Nation fans quite how she intended.
One social media post that Bristowe shared not long ago prompted a big reaction from her followers. She felt many misinterpreted her intentions, and she later tried to set the record straight.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kaitlyn Bristowe Shared a Statement on Feminism & Marriage
On October 25, Bristowe shared a video on her Instagram page. She noted she “Put on the captions for a reason,” but not everybody took in the message she tried to present.
The video showed the “Dancing with the Stars” champion dancing to the Beyonce song “***Flawless.” As the Ted Blog noted in December 2013 with the song’s release, Beyonce included some lines from a TEDxEuston presentation by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The talk was titled, “We should all be feminists.”
The first line was, “You should aim to be successful, but not too successful.” Bristowe continued by including the lines, “Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important.”
Toward the end of the clip, Bristowe took a ring off her finger and tossed it. Some fans perceived the ring toss, and the video as a whole, to be a statement on her former engagement to Jason Tartick. The couple announced their split in August.
On the November 5 episode of Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast, Bristowe talked about the video and the reaction she got to it. “It was supposed to be a mic drop instead of a f*** you,” the former “Dancing with the Stars” champion explained of her intent.
“I get the woman empowerment, all for it. But the ring toss is a bit much and very juvenile, tasteless and unnecessary,” a critic commented. That person continued, “You literally make yourself a target for trolls then complain when they tell you what you refuse to hear..little old for this obvious slight at someone else. Could have just been a woman empowerment.”
Bristowe Received a Lot of Criticism
After posting the video, Bristowe received a lot of criticism. Some understood the message she was trying to convey. However, there was a lot of pushback too.
“Sad for you. You seem a bit lost. It’s ok to not be married. But the way you flaunt empowerment and yet seem so unhappy is not it,” wrote one critic.
“The ring toss is a bit disrespectful to Jason I feel,” added another.
“Oof. You can heal without disrespecting,” someone else commented.
Throughout her time on Burke’s podcast, Bristowe spoke about how she reacts to what she describes as “hate from all these trolls.” She noted, “I’m always wanting to be, like, be bold and stand up for what I believe in and have a voice, not just for me and for other women and for society.”
The DWTS Champion Felt Things Blew out of Proportion
Bristowe specifically mentioned the ring video and explained, “I actually respect Jason and I will never speak poorly of him.” The “Dancing with the Stars” champion noted the ring “was not the one he gave me, it was a piece of plastic from Amazon.” The dance “was supposed to be about the messaging behind the, like, pressures that marriage” put on women, Bristowe explained.
The former “Bachelorette” star felt “it got blown out of proportion.” As a result, she shared, “In those moments, my feelings, I’m like oh my gosh, now I feel like I hurt somebody’s feelings. That was not my intention, people are not taking this the right way.”
Bristowe also noted that she believed in the message of what she shared. “It doesn’t mean I don’t believe in marriage, it’s almost poking fun at myself.”
She continued, “But it’s also empowering women to be like you can be… wherever you are in life is okay, screw what everybody else is telling you.” As for how strongly people reacted to her post, Bristowe shared, “I think it’s part of their entertainment.”
The “Dancing with the Stars” champion added, “I think sadly people that are miserable, that’s where entertainment and joy comes in for them because they don’t have to face anyone for real.”