Reality Steve (born Steve Carbone) will keep his distance from Bachelor stars now after facing backlash for his inappropriate and problematic behavior with former contestants.
On Thursday, the reality TV blogger released a statement to announce his intentions to create a level of professionalism on his part with future participants. He said:
“Going forward, I’m not gonna have any sort of personal relationship with these contestants. Because even the times I’ve tried to speak to them in a ‘looking out for you’ way, helping them maybe avoid disaster, etc, it backfires more often than not. I need to draw clearer lines that these are people I’m reporting on not people I have relationships/friendships with.”
Related: Katie Thurston Teases ‘Healthy Relationship’ After Wrapping Bachelorette Early!
While the 45-year-old did not know of a “power dynamic” between him and the reality stars, he acknowledges how it “prevents any REAL social relationship from happening.” He also said the dynamic “prevents genuine behavior, meaning, I can’t be sure if someone actually WANTS to talk to me or not.”
It is hard to believe Steve doesn’t recognize the unfair hold he has on the franchise as he literally is the the go-to person for all things Bach-related. Not to mention that his reporting has had a way of hurting individuals public perception and lives (cough, cough Jenna Cooper).
In case you missed it, Bekah Martinez called out some of the New York native’s “terrible past blogs” in which he wrote some extremely misogynistic content about the women involved in the franchise. Earlier this week, he took to Twitter to first apologize for what he has said in the past.
(Cont)…Those that have followed me in recent years have recognized the change in my blog, in my tweets, and on my podcast. While it should have been removed earlier, they are currently being removed from my site.
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) April 20, 2021
However, things quickly took a turn when Demi Burnett quote-tweeted Reality Steve’s tweet and claimed he did not change at all. The 26-year-old shared a series of four pictures describing an “unwanted and unprompted sexual advance” from Carbone, in which he called to tell her about a “graphic sex dream” he had about Demi.
No you haven’t changed @RealitySteve https://t.co/mboaXIUs7f pic.twitter.com/7bBQtqeiE1
— Demi Burnett (@demi_burnett) April 22, 2021
That’s just so inappropriate. After Demi shared her story, the writer quickly responded to the TV personality:
“I had no idea at the time that conversation made you feel that way. I am apologizing now knowing how uncomfortable I made you feel. I crossed boundaries I didn’t think at the time I was crossing.”
In the new statement, Carbone confessed how his tweet was “rushed, not well written, and interpreted poorly” as he wanted to get ahead of the controversy.
“I was totally caught off guard, and I wanted to respond quickly, so I didn’t look like I was trying to duck responsibility or not care about her feelings… Had I taken a moment, I could’ve said I need to respond simply to her feelings, put mine to the side, this is not about me, this about her. I get that.”
Steve then detailed how Demi had been an “acquaintance” at the time before adding:
“At the time the Demi situation happened, I was in a relationship. I also don’t have a track record of cheating on partners, going behind people’s back, etc. The conversation with Demi, however cringey, was not an attempt to get her in bed. It was not an attempt to sexually manipulate her. It was me having a ‘hey that’s crazy’ conversation with someone who a couple weeks earlier said on her podcast she thought I hated her.”
So you thought it was okay to prove you didn’t hate someone by detailing your sex dream…? Yeah, no. No matter who you are or what the situation, it is always out of line.
Still, Steve said he is “very glad she finally confronted me” as he wants to grow and learn from the experience. In another part of his statement, the media personality also addressed Kristina Schulman’s accusations and said he “personally apologized for how I made her feel.” Even more so, the blogger recognized how he is not the victim in this situation.
“It has kept me up at night. “I’ve tried to show an open mind, and a willingness to have this conversation to hear people’s sides and people I’ve interacted with. That’s the most that I can do, which is to try to say that I want to learn from my past mistakes.”
Moving forward, Steve plans to maintain personal boundaries with the contestants from now on.
“I’m going to have a better understanding now of the boundaries of not only women from this franchise, but in general. I want to use this as a learning experience and be better moving forward. There is no other choice.”
They really should have been put in place from the beginning. Just saying! Ch-ch-check out his full statement (below):
Podcast #232 is up now at: https://t.co/Xg4XIINwCA where I talk about the statement I released today, my Float Spot experience, and my thoughts on the "Temptation Island" finale. However, my column today on my website is what I hope people will take the time to read today.
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) April 29, 2021
What do U think about Steve’s latest apology for and explanation about the controversy? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via Reality Steve/Instagram]
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