’90 Day Fiance’ Star Geoffrey Paschel Responds to Petition Demanding He Be Removed From Show

90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days star Geoffrey Paschel has broken his silence on a petition signed by nearly 2,700 people demanding he be kicked off the TLC show amid his “checkered past.” As the Knoxville, Tennessee man seeks love with a Russian woman named Varya on the ongoing season of the hit reality show, a Change.org petition has been gaining steam after reports from Starcasm about Paschel’s troubled legal past.

The petition demands that Paschel be removed from the show “and have him appear on no further shows due to current allegations and criminal charges made against him, saying he has “been accused of kidnapping, abuse, rape, child endangerment, dealing drugs, felony larceny, theft and battery. He is barred from ever entering Canada.” TLC has yet to comment on the allegations against Paschel.

As anger against Paschel’s casting builds online, the reality personality addressed his appearance on Instagram.

“I have been repeatedly asked why I would EVER want to be on a show (the best show FYI) where my life would be put in front of everyone to pick apart—especially with my checkered past,” he wrote in a lengthy Instagram caption. “Well, guys, it is MY past. It is MY life. It is MY choice. If we were all the same: thought the same, looked the same, or acted the same, how lame would that be?”

“My closed-up life was the only way I knew to live,” he continued, “I hid so much about myself—whether it be my age, my history, or even my relationships. What crazier, whacked up way could I have done it any better than blasting out there?”

He added: “With the path I chose, it cannot EVER be reversed. Everything about me is out there for the world to see, whether it is true or fantasy. I can never go back, and honestly, I would not have it any different.”

“I have realized who my ‘people’ are and, opposingly, who only want to hold me down and set me back,” he wrote. “Luckily, I NOW have a strong support system via mostly complete strangers who have lifted me up SO high and have shared their love.”

Despite the accusations, Pasche concluded saying he was focused on a “new beginning.”

“Here is to finding MY light and new beginning at the other end of the tunnel!” he concluded. “When things no longer work, find YOUR tunnel! See you tonight as I start my new quest to the other side of the world…I love you guys-always do YOU!”

Photo credit: TLC