The Bachelor star Peter Weber has defended contestant Hannah Ann Sluss after Becca Kufrin and Rachel Lindsay compared the 23-year-old model to controversial Bachelorette contestant Luke Parker – also known as Luke P.
“I’m going say something. Don’t get mad at me,” Lindsay said on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast on Tuesday, January 7.
Kufrin then chimed in, “I know exactly what you are going to say.”
“We’ve only seen one episode. But you know who Hannah Ann reminds me of in the way you talk about her?” Lindsay continued. “Everybody say it with me now: One. Two, Three! Luke P!”
Peter was then quick to fire back at their comparison.
“No, not even close. Not even close. Don’t even go there,” the Bachelor star said. “She was intentional, but that’s different.”
Although Kufrin agreed that “maybe” the model was “intentional, not manipulative,” Lindsay didn’t change her opinion.
“Listen. You know him outside of all of that. You know him past the first episode. I’m only talking about first episode,” she explained. “We didn’t know he was like that. First episode it was like, wow, he’s really into this girl. He knows exactly what he wants. He’s very intentional in exactly what he wants to do. And she feels it as well. I’m just saying. We’ve only seen one episode.”
Although Peter ultimately agreed to disagree, the former Bachelorette stars pointed out that their issue with Hannah Ann was that she stole time with the Bachelor from the other contestants numerous times during Monday’s 3-hour-premiere. As a result, she earned Weber’s first impression rose during the episode.
Parker, who vied for Hannah Brown’s heart on season 15 of The Bachelorette, received backlash from fans who accused him of being too intense at the start of the season. He then made headlines after he slut-shamed Brown for having an intimate encounter with Weber during the fantasy suite dates.
“Hannah Ann was someone that … That girl knew exactly what she wanted coming into this and never let me question that,” Weber told the two women. “And I literally mean that from the beginning. She was the first person to steal me away for the first conversation. She was the first kind of normal kiss. Not from like the first entrances. We clicked immediately.”
The Bachelor returns with an all-new episode every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.