I happen to agree with Nick Viall when he said he didn’t “really get the choice” of making Clayton Echardthe lead on The Bachelor. After watching this season, it turns out that Nick was spot on about Clayton lacking charisma. Any of the other men from the top-four of Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette would have been better in this role. Plus, Clayton’s exhibiting questionable decision-making abilities.
Case in point, Clayton sent Elizabeth Corrigan home and decided to keep Shanae Ankney instead. These two clearly did not get along on the show. Shanae ate all of Elizabeth’s shrimp and ultimately put Elizabeth down for having ADHD. Clayton has maintained that had he known the full story, he would have sent Shanae home instead. He also might be suggesting that production made him keep her around.
According to Us Weekly, Clayton nmay have hinted on social media that he was forced to keep Shanae around for ratings and drama. “In the comments section of [Clayton’s] recent Instagram photo, a fan wrote, ‘Wear blue in your next photo if you were forced to keep Shanae against your will’.” Clayton didn’t directly “respond to the comment,” but he did post “on the app again one day later.”
In that February 9thpost, Clayton was wearing blue. “YOUR SHORTS ARE BLUE,” that same user commented. Clayton replied to the comment this time, writing, “That is a correct observation!” This all sounds like a bit of a stretch, and Lyndsey Windham, Clayton’s latest castaway, “poked holes in Clayton’s statement” on Tik Tok about how he claimed he would have sent Shanae home had he known the full story with Elizabeth.
RELATED: Clayton Echard Apologizes To Elizabeth Corrigan After He Sent Her Home Over On The Bachelor
“As you can see,” Lyndsey began, “[Clayton] said that if he would have known what was going on, he would have sent Shanae home immediately. However, … after the Baywatch date, Clayton chose to spend our time asking me about the drama in the house and why Shanae felt so bullied in the mansion. And I explained to him, word for word, that I would never want anyone to feel bullied.”
She continued, “However, when someone is mocking and making fun of someone’s mental disabilities, that’s crossing the line, and I don’t want to surround myself with people like that.” Then Lyndsey concluded, saying, “At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and no hard feelings, however, you knew and you kept her.”
This is pretty damning evidence. Clayton, however, isn’t necessarily in charge of who goes home and who gets to stay. Producers are making a show, and on The Bachelor, dramatic personalities get a lot of screen time. Clayton was probably told to keep Shanae around a bit for ratings.
RELATED: Clayton Echard Responds To Nick Viall’s Criticism Of Him Being Cast As The Bachelor
Regardless of why Clayton did what he did, he seems to be aware that keeping Shanae around “killed all” of his “credibility.”
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CLAYTON AS THE BACHELOR? WAS HE FORCED BY PRODUCERS TO KEEP SHANAE AROUND? WAS SHANAE THE BULLY OR WAS SHE BEING BULLIED? WHO WILL CLAYTON CHOOSE IN THE END?
[Photo Credit: ABC/John Fleenor]
