‘Bachelorette’ Kaitlyn Bristowe Wants To Use Cyber Bullying Experience To Spark Change

Kaitlyn Bristowe has faced criticism and cyber-bullying throughout her journey as The Bachelorette. She and host Chris Harrison addressed the issue in an emotional segment of Monday night’s Men Tell All episode. Harrison hoped by discussing it openly, it would be a step toward making it stop.

Kaitlyn Bristowe doesn’t want to just sweep the bullying under the rug now that her Bachelorette season is coming to an end. Instead of letting her cyber bullies have the final word, she wants to use her experience and voice to help make the internet a better place for future generations.

“Hate is one of the ugliest things in the world, and I really want to use what’s happened to me to make a change.”

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Kaitlyn opened up in a lengthy post about her newly fueled passion on her official website. The 30-year-old reality star said that while she is in a good place now, she doesn’t know if she could have handled this type of bullying when she was younger.

“I have a beautiful niece and nephew, and I want kids; I refuse to have them live in a world where people can hide behind their computers or phones and try to bring them down. They are young and fragile, and if social media existed the way it does now when I was young, I’m not sure I would have been able to handle it. Do we forget that there have been cases of suicide due to online bullying? I am lucky enough to love who I am, have some sort of voice right now, and I want to use this to make a change.”

In her post, Kaitlyn mentions her friend and Bachelorette producer Elan Gale, who wrote a open letter to trolls and haters in a blog post last month. Bristowe said the part of his letter that touched her the most was where he pointed out “the best part of your day shouldn’t be being the worst part of someone else’s.”

Gale goes on a long rant that seems to be sparked by all the hate thrown at Kaitlyn, but he never mentions her by name. He gives online trolls a lot to think about.

“I don’t know much, but I know this: when you’re taking your last breath and your loved ones are by your side, no one is going to lean over you and say, ‘I’m really going to miss the way you made people feel like s*** on the internet.’ “

Kaitlyn Bristowe feels “bullying stems from insecurities,” which everyone has, but urges people — especially ones with impressionable children — to “take a step back and think about what we say to people before hitting that send button.” The Bachelorette wants everyone to realize “words are weapons,” and they need to make the world of social media less hateful for all the “youngins” growing up in it.

[Image via People]