Bachelorette: What We Know About Bryan Witzmann's Political Views
Michelle Young didn't find a romantic connection with Bryan Witzmann on The Bachelorette season 18, but as a self-described "political junkie," some fans have been curious to learn more about Bryan's political views and the causes that he advocates for on social media. Overall, the premiere of Michelle's season of The Bachelorette was an explosive episode that delivered quite a lot of drama. After a few recent season premieres that had such low stakes, Michelle's season came in with a wrecking ball.
As Michelle met the cast of 30 men vying for her love, a few discoveries were made by co-hosts Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe and by Michelle herself. Of note, Ryan Fox's folder of notes on how to act on the show came to the surface. Moreover, Michelle recognized Joe Coleman as a guy who had previously ghosted her on social media. Among the seven men who were sent home by the end of the night was Bryan, who came into the show with a certain degree of notoriety after having such a long and successful career in the NFL.
Interestingly enough, there's a lot more to Bryan Witzmann that fans didn't see on The Bachelorette. Bryan has dedicated a lot of his downtime to sharing his political views and advocating for causes he's passionate about. During an interview with SB Nation from 2018, Bryan addressed the fact that he had advocated for gun reform in Congress just six hours before the Parkland shooting took place in Florida. "It's crazy to me that there's some Second Amendment people that think gun reform is taking your guns. It doesn't mean that. It means being a responsible country that takes care of people and schools by having legislation that is good for the majority of America," Bryan told the publication. Also in 2018, Bryan did an interview with CBS News where he talked about respecting NFL players who chose to take the knee during the national anthem.
Bryan also used his profile on Twitter to talk about different political issues over the years. As seen in the tweets below, Bryan spoke out against Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban in 2017 and called out his questioning of President Obama's nationality. Bryan also addressed topics related to gun reform many times on Twitter as the years went by. Then, in 2020, Bryan engaged in one particular debate against a Conservative media personality who tried to deny that white privilege exists. In fact, most of his tweets shared in 2020 appear to be in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Considering that the long history of racism within The Bachelor franchise escalated to new heights in 2021, it is a positive thing that producers are seemingly casting new contestants who are more politically aware and in line with the values of the person who is leading a current season of the show. After having to deal with Rachael Kirkconnell winning Matt James' season of The Bachelor while having a racist past, producers seem to be doing a better job with casting now. Additionally, given the NFL's current standing with issues like sexism and racism, Bryan is a good example of someone in a position of privilege who is willing to speak up.
The Bachelorette season 18 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Sources: Bryan Witzmann/Instagram, Bryan Witzmann/Twitter