This Former Bachelorette Is Calling Out Nick Viall For Making Money Off Calling Women ‘Too Much’
In a world where reality TV stars can turn overnight fame into thriving influencer careers, the alumni of The Bachelor franchise are no strangers to leveraging their 15 minutes of fame. Among these, Nick Viall, who first charmed audiences on season 10 of The Bachelorette, then appeared on season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise, and finally took center stage as the star of The Bachelor season 21, has become one of the franchise’s most successful exports.
Post-reality show, Viall has crafted a lucrative career for himself, amassing a reported $7 million net worth through a blend of podcasting gigs and acting roles. A significant part of his post-Bachelor life involves recapping the show and dishing out advice — solicited or not — to its stars and beyond.
However, not everyone is basking in the glow of Viall’s success story. Clare Crawley, herself a notable figure in The Bachelor universe, has recently pointed a finger at Viall, accusing him of building his empire by labeling some of the franchise’s women as “too much.”
Crawley, 43, opened up on Instagram about a conversation with a fan that criticized Viall and his wife, Natalie, for their commentary around women, especially former Bachelorettes, being labeled as “too emotional, too difficult, too indecisive,” among other things. The fan accused Viall of profiting from making it challenging for these women to escape criticism in their comments. Crawley responded, “If standing up for yourself, having boundaries, and not letting people take advantage of you is considered being difficult … then I don’t know what to say lol. I can only pray these people raise a child that is capable of being difficult for others in order to stay true to themselves,” she wrote, per Us Weekly. This comes in the wake of Viall and Joy welcoming their first daughter in February.
Crawley didn’t stop there. She further encouraged her followers with a powerful message: “To the women perceived as ‘aggressive,’ continue to be assertive. To the women perceived as ‘bossy,’ continue leading. To the women perceived as ‘too much,’ continue taking up space. To the women perceived as ‘awkward,’ continue to ask hard questions. To the women: be yourself.”
The controversy stirred when on Viall’s podcast, The Viall Files, both he and Joy drew parallels between Maria Georgags, a contestant on Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor who was reported to be the next Bachelorette, and Crawley. Joy alleged difficulties similar to those reportedly encountered with Crawley, describing her as “famously the only Bachelorette who quit a week into filming.” Viall added, “which kind of tracks, I mean, Maria quit even before filming started.”
Crawley is far from alone in her criticism. Charity Lawson, another alumna, also voiced her displeasure following Viall’s recap of her Bachelorette season, where he remarked, “Charity loves a f*** boy.” Lawson retorted on Threads, “Maybe it’s time we stop getting dating advice from unqualified TV personalities who like bashing women for the sake of views,” and further elaborated on her Instagram Story, labeling misogynistic behavior as “icky.”
While Viall’s media empire shows no sign of slowing down, here’s hoping that Crawley and the countless other women who have called out Viall’s problematic behaviors find their voices amplified in a conversation that champions respect and understanding in the limelight.
Before you go, click here to see the most dramatic splits in Bachelor and Bachelorette history.