PHOTOSBachelor’ Star Peter Weber Defends Victoria Fuller Amid Racism Scandal
Peter Weber is speaking out in defense of Victoria Fuller. The 28-year-old's support comes after the 26-year-old Bachelor hopeful's Cosmopolitan cover was axed after she was featured in a controversial modeling campaign.
On Tuesday, February 4, Peter told Build Series, “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 continued, “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. 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.”
The pilot concluded, “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 selected to appear on Cosmo’s March issue after Victoria won the Bachelor group date in Costa Rica during the Monday, February 3 episode. However, that same day, the publication’s editor-in-chief Jessica Pels announced that they would not be releasing Victoria’s cover after she was linked to a clothing brand that featured the words “White Lives Matter.”
The company that the reality star modeled for created the shirts in an effort to bring awareness to marine life. Apparel from the brand featured the phrases “White Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” to aid in the protection of certain types of marlin, according to USA Today. However, Jessica said, “Both phrases and the belief systems they represent are rooted in racism and therefore problematic.”
In a statement published online on Monday, February 3, Jessica wrote, “Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color.”
Jessica continued, “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.”
