Cosmo Pulls 'Bachelor' Cover After Contestant's White Lives Matter Scandal

Sorry, Bachelor Nation: Victoria Fuller will not be Cosmopolitan’s next cover girl.

In light of new information revealing Fuller’s alleged involvement with an ad campaign in which she modeled clothing that featured the words “White Lives Matter,” Cosmo editor-in-chief Jessica Pels released a statement announcing the magazine has scraped the cover completely.

Ultimately, Pels declared: “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 statement came moments after Monday night’s (February 3) episode of The Bachelor, in which Fuller was among the contestants to shoot for the magazine as part of a challenge on the show. “When my team and I flew down to Costa Rica for our challenge, we weren’t told who our models were going to be. We didn’t even meet them until we were all on camera on-set, ready to start our shoot,” Pels explained.

“So when it came time for me to choose the winner of the challenge—whose prize was a digital cover of Cosmo—all I knew about the contestants were their first names and the energy they conveyed through the camera lens.”

While Pels mentions the campaign was reported to be for a “Marlin Lives Matter organization”— which uses “white lives matter” and “blue lives matter” on merch to draw attention to the overfishing of white and blue marlin—she maintains: “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.”

She concluded: “Ultimately what felt right was choosing not to publish the digital cover on our website or social feeds, and simply being honest with you, the audience we respect, about what happened and where we stand.”

As yet, neither Fuller nor ABC has addressed the controversy.

Photo: Instagram/Victoria Fuller


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