Fan Launched Petition to Cancel Season 16 of ‘The Bachelorette’

Clare Crawley and Suitors

ABC Clare Crawley poses with the season 16 contestants on 'The Bachelorette.'

The worst pandemic in a century has forced many things to be canceled, including concerts, sporting events, and movie releases. But one fan’s attempt to shut down The Bachelorette was for an entirely different reason: They were not excited to see Clare Crawley at the helm.

Crawley infuriated many fans during her brief time as lead of The Bachelorette. She had an infatuation with one contestant, Dale Moss, to the point that it seemed as though others never had a chance at getting her attention. Crawley was also accused of sexual harassment for a strip dodgeball group date, and former Bachelorette lead JoJo Fletcher criticized her for being unnecessarily harsh with suitors who didn’t jump at the opportunity to speak with her at a date.

While some found Crawley’s honesty and truncated season to be a breath of fresh air, most fans seemed happy about the swap to Tayshia Adams, who is now finishing as the show’s lead.

But what makes Lauren Hawley’s anti-Crawley petition interesting is that it was posted on Change.org back in the spring, months before the season even started filming.

“Clare has already started to attack the best contender on her show because he is raising money to help children,” Hawley wrote. “She is too much of a Karen to be the bachelorette.”

The petition — which was addressed to Chris Harrison — received over 800 signatures, but unsurprisingly did nothing to sway ABC’s decision to move forward with Crawley’s season as planned.


The Petition Refers to a Brief Feud Between Clare Crawley & Matt James

Matt James

ABC/Billy KiddMatt James is the lead of season 25 of ‘The Bachelor.’

Matt James is set to become the first Black man to lead The Bachelor with the premiere scheduled for January 4. But before he was announced for that role, James was initially set to be a contestant on season 16 of The Bachelorette.

That was put on hold when COVID-19 forced a delay of filming, which is when James garnered attention from Bachelor Nation as part of “The Quarantine Crew,” a group of friends that also included Tyler Cameron and Hannah Brown. James began to amass a large following on TikTok and he created a Cameo account where fans could pay for a personalized video message.

While Crawley didn’t call out James by name, she seemed to be bothered by his social media activity, in particular.

James defended himself, saying that all the money raised by his Cameo account was to be donated to charitable causes, including the Robin Hood Foundation. Crawley subsequently walked back her criticism, saying her critical tweet wasn’t about James.

From that point, the drama seemed as though it was put to bed. Tyler Cameron wasn’t as convinced, though. He said his friend “dodged a bullet” by not being on The Bachelorette and said James “would have probably gotten kicked out” early in the season.


Clare Crawley Is Now House Hunting With Her Fiancé, Dale Moss

Dale Moss Proposes to Clare Crawley

ABC/Craig SjodinDale Moss proposed to Clare Crawley with a Neil Lane Couture ring on ‘The Bachelorette.’

Crawley may not have been the most popular lead of The Bachelorette, but if the goal is to leave the show with love, it seems she did things right.

Time will tell if the relationship lasts (or if rumors of Moss’ infidelity have any legs), but for now, it looks like it’s on the right track. The couple is already planning a wedding, talking about starting a family, and house hunting in Sacramento, California.

In the most recent season of The Bachelor, Peter Weber’s engagement to Hannah Ann Sluss didn’t even last until the season ended. It was the same story in season 15 of The Bachelorette with Hannah Brown’s short-lived engagement with Jed Wyatt. Crawley’s already doing better than those two.

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