BARRIER-BREAKING BACHELORETTE
On “The Men Tell All,” Bachelorette Hannah Brown and host Chris Harrison fight back against double standards
Hannah Brown and Chris Harrison talk to Us about why she’s such an important role model for women.
Hannah Brown isn’t here for your criticism. The Alabama native, 24, has proved that time and time again in season 15 of The Bachelorette — especially during the fantasy suite dates. After Hannah was open about having sex with Peter Weber (in a windmill, twice), Luke Parker demanded she not sleep with anyone else — so she sent him packing. And Brown, along with host Chris Harrison, can’t wait to continue challenging the double standard.
BARRIER BREAKER
After she appeared on The Bachelor, some assumed Brown was a cookie-cutter pageant queen. But, in fact, she’s used her platform to crush the mold and attempt to put a stop to the shade cast on women on the show who have sex. “I definitely think there’s a different standard for men and women about how we view our sexuality and intimacy and what’s considered ladylike or not,” Brown tells Us in an exclusive interview. “We’ve really got to start the conversation. It’s really important to not make people feel ashamed.”
One person who’s anything but ashamed of Brown is longtime host Harrison, 47, who calls her “a powerful, kickass woman,”
especially when it comes to standing her ground. “She’s not afraid to say, ‘I’m insecure’ and ‘I cry’ and ‘Yeah, it hurts me when people say I’m a slut.’ That, to me, is power,” says the host. “I think in this day and age, there’s so much talk about empowerment, I’m glad we’re having this discussion.”
OUT OF LINE
All season, Parker rubbed people the wrong way — everyone except Brown. Her final three, Weber, Jed Wyatt and Tyler Cameron, couldn’t see why she kept him around for as long as she did. But when she snapped at him ahead of their fantasy suite date on the July 15 episode, she knew it was the right thing to do. “We have to talk about what’s right for our bodies and what you believe and what you want to do,” she tells Us. “But to call people out and make people feel unworthy and dirty, that’s really when there are issues. People feel insecure and start having a poor self-image. It becomes this big epidemic, and I think it’s really got to change.” Harrison agrees — and wants his 15-year-old daughter to learn that message too. He’s proud she can look up to Brown: “No one wants to talk about the fact that she’s had sex in a windmill with somebody,” he says. “She reluctantly became that hero and the voice and face of this, so hopefully other women in toxic relationships won’t face it.”
MOVING ON
As for whether she finds her prince charming, that’s still to be determined (the finale airs Monday, July 29 on ABC), but she’s in a good place either way.
“I’m happy because I’ve learned so much about myself, my strength and my power,” she tells Us, “and what I will and won’t allow in a relationship.”