Just days after the three leading men of the 2022 season of The Bachelors was announced, one has had to address some unsavoury social media posts dredged up from his past.
WATCH: Meet the three men on The Bachelors 2022
Jedidiah ‘Jed’ McIntosh was revealed as one of this season’s Bachelors on The Project on Monday night, appearing alongside co-stars Felix Von Hofe and Thomas Philbin-Malucelli.
RELATED: Can three Bachies save the franchise? It doesn’t look good
With bleach-blonde hair and plenty of tattoos, fans immediately singled him out as the “edgy” Bachie, but weren’t ready for some of the inflammatory posts he allegedly made on Facebook in the early 2010s.
Screenshots shared by a since-deleted Twitter account in the wake of his casting announcement appeared to show a younger Jed posting about going to “smash p—sy” and “perving” on women with male friends.
One post, allegedly recovered from the depths of his Facebook account, read: “To everyone who entered [redacted] … [friend] and myself are gonna rape yas so watch out because there’s a storm coming kids.”
This and other comments had Bachelor fans horrified, with many wondering how Network Ten producers overlooked Jed’s old social media posts.
RELATED: Did someone order three Bachelors? Meet the new Bachies
Others insisted he was an inappropriate choice for the show, one tweeting: “Seriously, this is the kind of person we’re putting on TV now?”
Jed has now responded to the screenshots, saying in a statement that he was “shocked” by the posts from more than a decade ago.
“These posts are from over 10 years ago and I don’t have any recollection of making them. Anyone who knows me knows this is not who I am,” he said, via the Daily Telegraph.
“As a kid we say things not understanding the gravity of the language used but I can adamantly say as an adult I do not agree with the use of language and sentiment of the posts.”
Jed would have been around 14 at the time the posts were allegedly shared to Facebook and insists he’s come a long way in the more than a decade since.
“I have the upmost [sic] respect for women, am a strong advocate for assault victims and would never want to cause any harm or hurt to anyone,” he said.
While some fans are calling for him to be cut from this year’s triple threat Bachelor line-up, others are worried about what this fresh controversy could mean for the show.
After ratings plummeted with Jimmy Nicholson’s season in 2021, Network Ten introduced the new format in a bid to revive the Bachie franchise.
Only time will tell if the gamble will pay off.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
