TuesdayFeb042020
ABC/Maarten de Boer(NEW YORK) — The Bachelor drama continues off-screen.
On Monday night’s episode, Peter Weber and the 12 remaining contestants had a steamy photoshoot for Cosmopolitan in Costa Rica. Victoria Fuller won the honor of gracing the mag’s next digital cover with Peter, but now Cosmo has decided to pull the cover after photos surfaced of Victoria modeling a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt.
In a letter posted to Cosmopolitan.com, editor-in-chief Jessica Pels explains, “Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color.”
The photos of Victoria in question were reportedly used in a campaign for Marlin Lives Matter, an organization focused on preventing the overfishing of white and blue marlin. The organization used the phrases “white lives matter” and “blue lives matter” in its messaging.
“In my view, the nature of the organization is neither here nor there — both phrases and the belief systems they represent are rooted in racism and therefore problematic,” Pels wrote.
The photos from The Bachelor episode were already printed in Cosmo’s March issue, but the mag has chosen not to publish the digital cover on their website or social feeds.
Victoria has not yet addressed the controversy.
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