‘Bachelor’ Juan Pablo Apologizes For Anti-Gay Remarks

Published on January 20, 2014. Updated June 5, 2018

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‘Bachelor’ Juan Pablo Galavis has apologized for what he said about gay people.

In a controversial interview that quickly ignited an internet firestorm, Juan Pablo was asked if he thought there should be a season of The Bachelor featuring same sex-couples. “No… I respect [gay people] but, honestly, I don’t think it’s a good example for kids,” he responded.

He continued: “There’s this thing about gay people… it seems to me, and I don’t know if I’m mistaken or not… but they’re more ‘pervert’ in a sense. And to me the show would be too strong… too hard to watch.”

ABC quickly began damage control. “Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers or studio,” the network said in a statement.

Soon, Juan Pablo apologized too, reminding viewers that English is not his first language, and insisting that he has many gay friends.

“I want to apologize to all the people I may have offended because of my comments on having a Gay or Bisexual Bachelor,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “The comment was taken out of context.”

See the video for the rest of his apology, including a discussion of that word “pervert.”