Bachelor in Paradise contestant Demi Burnett has shown no fear in speaking her mind on television and social media, and her recent argument with Tanner Tolbert over a comparison to disgraced musician Jed Wyatt is only the latest example. When Tolbert drew a line between Wyatt’s inability to break up with his girlfriend before decamping to film The Bachelorette and Burnett’s pre-show casual relationship with a woman, fans on Twitter - and especially Burnett herself - were quick to point out the obvious difference.
This is Tolbert’s first foray into Bachelor Nation villain-hood. During Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette, he played the role of the nice guy who makes it far, even though there’s no romantic connection. When he showed up on Bachelor in Paradise, he flipped the script, hitting it off almost immediately with Jade Roper. The two followed the unlikely path of actually making their reality television love translate to the real world. The couple recently welcomed their second child into the world inside a closet (no, really). Tolbert hasn’t shown an aversion to criticizing certain contestants, but many felt that calling out Burnett - who came out as bisexual during Tuesday’s episode - and drawing a parallel to her and Wyatt’s deception about his past wasn’t warranted.
In a tweet (via Us Weekly), Tolbert responded to Burnett telling Derek Peth, the man she’s currently coupled up with on Bachelor in Paradise, that she had been dating another woman before arriving in Mexico. She made it clear that she is “very much interested” in moving forward with Peth. Tolbert had a different take, tweeting, “Before filming even began I heard that Demi planned to leave the show engaged to this girl… I support Demi fully, but she could have proposed off the show.” Check out the tweet below:
In response to the Us Weekly article, Burnett viciously fired back to Tolbert’s Wyatt comparison on Twitter, writing, “Oh f*** off, not the same at all. Maybe I can teach you a thing or two about going down on your wife.” Burnett denied that there was a “plan” and pulled one last jab at Tolbert, tweeting, “You are a grown ass man tweeting about rumors.”
Tolbert had previously lamented on Twitter about how Bachelor in Paradise had changed for the worse due to all the dating and planning that takes place before the show. His frustration boiled over during the most recent episode, and it overshadowed an influential moment in the franchise, as Burnett came out to her friend Tayshia Adams and then to Peth. While Tolbert said he supports Burnett, invoking the name of one of the most reviled contestants in the show’s recent history in the same tweet as Burnett was about the least effective possible way he could show support.
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Bachelor In Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Us Weekly, Tanner Tolbert
