Doing the work. Hannah Brown revealed the important discussions she’s having with her family about racism after her N-word scandal.
The former Bachelorette, 25, held an Instagram Live session on Friday, June 5, where she dove into how she’s working on being a better ally. In doing so, she acknowledged a fan’s question about whether she has “had conversations” with her family since her controversy.
“I have and guess what? They’ve been uncomfortable,” the Dancing With the Stars champion revealed. “They are gonna be uncomfortable, especially if this is the first time, like me, that you’ve really opened your eyes and realized what’s going on around you. And I think the biggest thing that I’ve realized that’s so important, is coming to those conversations with a humble heart. You can’t be defensive, you gotta listen and you gotta educate yourself. If you really care, it takes time.”
Brown continued, “It’s not just, like, ‘Yes, I’m posting. Absolutely.’ But as much as I’m posting about these things that I’m sending y’all, I’m doing the work. After this, … I can keep listening to my ‘1619’ podcast and [read] White Fragility. And I don’t just listen, y’all. I take notes. I have conversations, I call my friends after and we talk about it and it’s, let me tell you, it’s been emotional. And it should be.”
The Alabama native noted that this period of political unrest in America “should not be about shame and guilt,” but that it “should be a time of reflection and being motivated” to do better.
“We’re all a part of the conversation and we all can look into some of our internalized racist ideologies because it is systematically institutionalized in our country,” the Bachelor alum. “It’s really hard to not be affected by that. So I just think dropping the defense and really just opening up your heart and having these conversations and knowing it’s gonna be emotional and uncomfortable, but just going at it from a humble place of wanting to grow and learn, like, it’s gonna be really impactful — I know it has been for me. It doesn’t mean it’s been easy, but no impactful work is ever easy. This is hard work.”
Brown came under fire for saying the N-word on Instagram Live on May 16 while singing along to “Rockstar” by DaBaby. She initially attempted to deny she ever said it before issuing a more formal apology.
In the weeks that followed, Brown opened up about her controversial use of the racial slur in another Instagram Live video. The reality TV star revealed that her written statement was “never supposed to be the end of the conversation, just the beginning.” She also asked that fans “not defend” her actions.
“I don’t want to be ignorant anymore,” she previously explained. “I don’t want to be an ignorant white girl who uses the N-word. But I also don’t want to be someone who goes on their platform intoxicated and engages with their platform that way. … I have learned that there are things that I cannot say. …There is so much more historical context that I didn’t know that makes it so much more inappropriate.”
Listen on Spotify to Here For the Right Reasons to get inside scoop about the Bachelor franchise and exclusive interviews from contestants.