Mike Johnson Spoke Out About Hannah Brown Using The N-Word On Instagram
Fans and celebrities are holding Hannah Brown accountable for saying the N-word during an Instagram Live on May 16. Instead of skipping past the lyric while rapping "Rockstar" by DaBaby, Brown used the slur and kept singing along. When fans asked Brown to apologize, she initially went on the defense, claiming fans misheard her. Eventually, she owned up to her mistake and promised to do better. Several Bachelor stars addressed the situation and took it as an opportunity to educate her and their millions of fans. Mike Johnson's response to Hannah Brown using the N-word is all about accountability.
"What Hannah did was unacceptable. Issues like this bring light to the bridge of pop culture and racism within our country," Johnson told TMZ about the situation on May 19. He encouraged everyone to continue speaking about this topic in order to learn from it. "I'm inviting her and everyone to a conversation, in hopes to educate everyone that this type of behavior needs to be changed and is unacceptable. My aim is that in this moment we don't divide, we come together, learn from this and create change for the better."
Ahead of his formal response, Johnson received some criticism for not speaking out on the issue sooner. He responded to the criticism in an Instagram Story post of his own, explaining he hadn't seen the video at the time.
"[Hannah] shouldn’t have said the N-word. It's pretty damn simple to me. I haven’t seen the video. I would like to see the video. But, people, don’t come at me like I’m watching everything that’s going on between my cast members on the show," he said.
As for Brown, she did end up issuing an official apology on her IG Story on May 18. "I owe you all a major apology. There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said. I have read your messages and seen the hurt I have caused. I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better," Brown wrote.
Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay responded to the situation on May 17 in an Instagram Live of her own, saying a written apology was not enough. She urged Brown to go on video and personally apologize. "It’s easy to make a statement, it’s easy to hide behind words, but when you’re bold enough to say the N-word on camera, on your platform … then you need to be bold enough to use your face on camera and apologize in the same way that you said the word," she said.
Brown may have a lot of Bachelor friends, but they're not afraid to hold her accountable for her actions whenever she makes a mistake.
