‘The Bachelor’: Victoria Confronted by Matt Following Bullying Backlash

On The Bachelor, Queen Victoria Larson’s reign may be coming to an end. In Monday night’s episode, Bachelor Matt James confronts Larson after fellow contestant Katie Thurston raised concerns about her not-so-royal behavior. More specifically, James takes Larson aside after she hurled some particularly insensitive insults at the five new contestants who were introduced during the Jan. 25 episode.

Good Morning America obtained an advanced clip of the confrontation in question. James explains to Larson, before being interrupted by her, “It was brought to my attention that there’s this toxicity in the house. People’s words are so powerful and when you said that Ryan’s a [ho] for being a dancer, I don’t think you know how — ” She then interjected to say, “That was completely taken out of context.” The lead pushed back on her statement by asking “what context” would make that type of language appropriate. Before he discussed the situation with Larson one-on-one, James did tell all of the contestants, “If you’re having to belittle someone else [in order] for you to shine, then those aren’t the qualities I’m looking for in my wife.”

Larson made a splash on the Bachelor Nation scene as soon as she emerged from the limo as “Queen Victoria.” She has even been branded as this season’s “villain” for her behavior towards several other women in the house, including Marylynn Sienna and Sarah Trott, the latter of whom left on her own accord earlier in the season, as Us Weekly noted. During an interview with GMA in January, Larson explained that she didn’t expect to be the “villain” prior to going on The Bachelor. “I anticipated being well-received, so to get, like, the bullying messages and the hate mail and the death threats, [I] wasn’t really prepared for that at all,” she said. “100 percent, it was shocking. … I don’t think my kindness really got to show through and I really do have a good heart. I actually became friends with one of the new girls.”

Larson later addressed her behavior on The Bachelor in a lengthy Instagram Story post in which she apologized to the other women who came on Season 25 of the ABC series. She wrote, “I think in my effort to make my opinions heard it may have been perceived as bullying by some, and I feel bad if my words or actions offended anyone. I take time each day to reflect and learn the lessons.” Larson added, “I think it’s important to learn from the past, live in the present, and to always move forward with a positive attitude. We learn more each day about social media and how it impacts us. I just want to encourage us all to be more positive and supportive. … Name calling is never OK, but I hold myself accountable and can just do better next time.”