ABC
Clare Crawley poses during a strip dodgeball group date.
Bachelorette contestant Yosef Aborady voiced his disapproval of a strip dodgeball group date that left five of his fellow contestants in nothing but jockstraps. He wasn’t the only one who thought it was inappropriate. Many viewers of the show felt it was a date that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.
On the second episode of season 16 of The Bachelorette, a group of 10 men were split into teams of five for a game of dodgeball. They were told the winning team would get an after party with Clare Crawley, while the losing team would be sent back to their rooms early. Crawley upped the stakes and turned it into a game of strip dodgeball, though.
With Crawley and host Chris Harrison watching from the sideline, the five men on the losing team progressively stripped down until they were just about naked.
While the idea of a strip dodgeball game was likely as much the show producers’ decision as it was Clare’s, it was a situation that rubbed plenty of fans the wrong way.
Bachelorette Fans Complained About a Double Standard
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGiRVt-AEwb/
The date certainly wasn’t the first time the franchise has asked contestants to show more skin than they’re comfortable revealing. One notable example was season 18 of The Bachelor when Andi Dorfman and Elise Mosca were asked to pose nude for a dog adoption photo shoot. Dorfman was nearly brought to tears before Juan Pablo Galavis consoled her and offered to also strip down.
In the most recent season of The Bachelor, women were asked to pillow fight in lingerie. But Crawley ogling bare bottoms from the sideline was a step too far, according to many fans:
And the theme of group date #2 is ✨sexual harassment✨ #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/kSwBXkpjan
— the bachelor & bitchelor 🌹 (@acceptedrose) October 21, 2020
imagine if #TheBachelor made a few of his women contestants strip down NAKED as punishment…he would be DRAGGED for the sexual exploitation…but there’s no double standards with men 🤔🤔 #TheBachelorette
— piper elrod (@piperrelrod) October 21, 2020
Gonna go ahead & firmly state my general dislike of all ‘strip’ dates because they make something that should feel empowering (being naked in front of someone you like!) into something forced, vulnerable, & potentially embarrassing. #TheBachelorette
— Bach Bracket (@bachbrack) October 21, 2020
Clare: “Coming on here for my looks only?? How dare you?”
Also Clare: Boys! Get naked and play dodgeball! #BacheloretteAU #TheBachelorette— cami (@camnsmith) October 21, 2020
So Clare on the #bachelorette, makes many of the men strip down..
Could you imagine the scrutiny a bachelor would get if he wanted girls to strip down?
Then continues to hug the naked guys.. super classy.
— Brenna Spencer (@BrennaSpencer) October 21, 2020
The losing dodgeball team seemed to take the punishment in stride and the moment was laughed off as “all in good fun.” Still, it’s hard to fault Aborady for saying it’s something he wouldn’t have been comfortable with had he been on the date.
Strip Dodgeball Wasn’t the Only Awkward Moment of the Episode
The Bachelorette is off to a mostly uncomfortable start. Aside from the controversial dodgeball date, there was also a one-on-one date with Jason Foster that asked the former NFL player to bare his soul about personal trauma in his past. It was a lot to ask for a first date with a woman Foster just met.
There was also the elimination of Brandon, who couldn’t think of anything he knew about Crawley other than the fact that she’s from Sacramento and that he thinks she’s pretty.
Crawley also called out a group of men on a date for not jumping at the opportunity to pull her aside for one-on-one time. It was an odd, awkward episode of The Bachelorette from start to finish.
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