PHOTOS‘Bachelor’ Peter Weber Backtracks After Defending Victoria Fuller Against Racism Allegations
Feb. 5 2020, Published 8:44 p.m. ET
Peter Weber appears to be changing his tune. On February 5, the Bachelor star backtracked after he originally defended contestant Victoria Fuller over racism allegations and clarified any misconceptions.
“Headlines definitely were taken out of context," Peter, 28, insisted on Access Hollywood. "I never supported Victoria with the campaign that she was a part of. I’m learning about all of this as it comes out, just like everyone else is.”
The Delta Airlines pilot added, “My comments were made about my time with Victoria on the show, and the person I got to know throughout the experience. In no way I would ever support that type of campaign." He also said that he hadn’t spoken to Victoria, 25, in the wake of the incident.
Peter previously told Build Series he felt otherwise about the contestant’s allegations. “Just being completely honest, I can’t really speak too much on it, because I don’t really know too many facts about the whole situation,” he said on February 4. “I just recently heard about that with the cover being removed. But you know, obviously, during that moment too, I knew nothing about that. None of us did.”
He added, “All I can speak on is the time I was able to spend with Victoria throughout this experience. And I truly enjoyed my experience with her. I really feel like she’s a good person. She’s got a lot of endearing qualities. I just hope that people can form their opinion on her based on what they see between the two of us and her time on the show. She’s not perfect, I’m not perfect, no one’s perfect, but, yeah, that’s all I can really say on that.”
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Peter and Victoria were set to appear on the March 2020 cover of Cosmopolitan after she won the group date in Costa Rica during the February 3 episode of The Bachelor. However, the same day, the publication’s editor-in-chief Jessica Pels announced that the magazine was no longer releasing Victoria’s cover. Victoria was linked to a clothing brand that featured the words “White Lives Matter.”
The company the Virginia Beach native modeled for created the apparel in order to promote awareness of marine life. The clothing used the phrases “White Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter,” which attempted to aid in protecting certain types of marlins. However, Jessica said that “Both phrases and the belief systems they represent are rooted in racism and therefore problematic.”
“Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand,” Jessica wrote in a statement on February 3. “We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color.”
The editor added, “My team and I had many long discussions about how we wanted to address this issue. We’d already printed the fashion shoot in our March issue, complete with an inset of the cover, and of course, the episode had already been filmed, Ultimately what felt right was choosing not to publish the digital cover on our website or social feeds, and simply being honest with you, the audience we respect, about what happened and where we stand.”
