Kaitlyn Bristowe Is a Big Fan of New Bachelorette Hannah Brown — Here’s Why

Bachelor Nation is weighing in on ABC’s choice for the next Bachelorette. Following Colton Underwood’s explosive season finale of The Bachelor, contestant Hannah Brown was named for the upcoming 15th season of The Bachelorette, which debuts in May. On the Friday episode of her Off the Vine podcast, former BacheloretteKaitlyn Bristowe gave Brown her seal of approval, noting that having someone who’s a little awkward is actually a good thing for the franchise, despite fans’ mixed reactions to the news.

“This world that we live in, of Bachelors, Bachelorettes, it’s always, your ‘All-American Hero,’ your ‘All-American Sweetheart,’ the ‘Girl Next Door.’ It’s always like, the same cookie-cutter. Hannah B, to me, is deprecating,” Bristowe said, per E! News. “She’s like — she’s got like this right amount of insecurities. She’s awkward, but it’s her. Like, I don’t feel like she’s faking that.”

Bristowe noted that fans criticizing Brown for “smiling too much” are seemingly looking for something to complain about. Speaking to the journey ahead for Brown, Bristowe said, “This is going to help her grow. This is going to help her realize who she is and come into herself and we need to support her along that journey, because it’s gonna be a beautiful thing. And we can turn it into her being an actual, like, you know, ‘pageant nightmare’ if we’re all hard on her and trolling her. If we support her, it can be a beautiful thing.”

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Additionally, Bristowe clapped back at the trolls who are attacking Brown on social media, which is a subject she’s broached several times on her podcast and on Instagram.

“God damn, she’s just being herself!” Bristowe said. “People are like, ‘She’s so awkward.’ I’m like, ‘Of course she was. She just got thrown into being the Bachelorette, she’s not used to being on TV—so what [if] she does pageants?—and all of a sudden, she meets five guys that could be her potential husband and she loses her words. You would too, bitch. God, I get fired up.”

She continued, “I’m like, God, what are people not just rooting for people’s happiness? I’m so sorry that she was chosen as the Bachelorette and you don’t like her for these reasons that don’t make any sense to me but give her a god damn chance.”

Fans may be torn on whether or not they want to watch another season of Brown searching for love, but it sounds like Bristowe is definitely in her corner.