Is Chad Johnson Getting A Bad Rap On ‘The Bachelorette’?

Chad Johnson is already this season’s breakout star on The Bachelorette. In just two episodes of the ABC reality show, Chad has already come to blows with almost all of JoJo Fletcher’s fellow suitors, and the polarizing luxury real estate agent shows no signs of slowing down. But is Chad Johnson really a villain, or is he just getting a bad edit?

After Monday’s Chad-heavy episode, Fletcher posted to her People blog to reveal that while Chad shouldn’t be threatening the other guys, she thinks he means well when it comes to her. Fletcher also revealed that she was taken aback when Chad Johnson called her “naggy” during a group date. Bad Bachelorette etiquette for sure, but Chad won JoJo over during their alone time.

“My time with Chad was unexpected,” JoJo wrote. “I guess I was expecting him to follow up on his little ‘nagging’ comment. Instead, he was open and vulnerable. And I felt fortunate that he could open up to me about the passing of his mother. I really feel like this night Chad was able to show me sides of him that I don’t think a lot of other people – especially the other guys – often see.”

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The Bachelorette star added that she liked that Johnson was aggressive when it came to finding ways to spend time with her.

“Arriving to that cocktail party, I was totally shocked to see Chad standing there,” she added. “And while we didn’t spend too much time together, I do appreciate a man showing me that he wants to spend time with me. There were some guys that first week who just kind of faded away, as if they really didn’t care about me. Chad didn’t do that. The night really took off when I spent time with Chase. The time we spent together that night instantly made me know that I needed to spend some quality time with him.”

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Still, watching back the episode was an eye opener for Fletcher, who really had no idea of the extent of the tension between Johnson and the other guys on the show.

“I had no idea there was this much tension between Chad and the other guys,” she wrote. “I knew there was some tension, of course, but I didn’t know there were threats of violence. I don’t feel great now seeing this. It’s all just so complicated. Chad is a complex guy with complex emotions. And I know he means well. But he really shouldn’t be threatening other guys. That’s not cool.”

Week 2 of The Bachelorette featured plenty of colorful commentary from Johnson, who took a break from working out and consuming protein powder to defend himself from the other guys’ confrontations. First, Johnson said he felt like he was on West Side Story with all of the guys in his face, but then he poked fun at the angry Bachelorette mob.

“It was like if the Care Bears surrounded you and told you they were going to kick you’re a**,” he said.

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While Chad Johnson has impressed JoJo Fletcher with his smooth moves, he hasn’t impressed last season’s villain, Season 11 Bachelorette contestant JJ Lane. Lane told Us Weekly he thinks Chad is nothing short of a tool, especially after a promo that shows Johnson threatening to hunt a fellow contestant down after they leave the show.

“Chad, I think you’re a f**king d**khead!” Lane said. “You wouldn’t have survived with me and Clint [Arlis] in the house, I’ll tell you that much. The thing with him is you threaten to come to somebody’s house, he’s f**king sitting right in front of you. If you got something to say, tell him — or if you got something to do, do it right there. No need to wait till the show is done to hunt him down.”

Lane also said other guys from the ABC franchise would never put up with a guy like Johnson.

“I think Chad is a bit of a blowhard,” Lane said. “I honestly don’t think Clint or myself or even [Bachelor star] Chris Soules for that matter, like there’s certain guys in this world they kind of don’t put up with the bulls**t. He kind of preyed on guys that did.”

Chad Johnson is already being pegged the best Bachelorette villain ever,and he seems to be loving the attention. But he actually signed on to the show for a very personal reason — and it wasn’t just for reality TV fame. Johnson posted an Instagram photo of himself with his late mother, revealing that he spent several years taking care of her when she was battling cancer, so he really had no time for a personal life.

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“The one question people keep asking, is why did I go on #TheBachelorette?” Chad wrote. “Well other than the fact that I work all the time, for 7 years I watched my mother slowly die from cancer. Over the last 3 she got much worse and I decided to spend all of my time that I wasn’t working at her house taking care of her and generally spending time with her… So I have not had a relationship in a very long time because I was busy trying to make sure my mother lived out her final years in comfort and surrounded by family. I still miss her every day… She was my best friend and the person I told everything to.”

In a separate post, Johnson wrote that he thinks real men should be able to take some ribbing.

“So maybe I’m a bit cocky, but you know what… I think it’s hilarious, and so did my mother,” Johnson wrote. “As men we call each other names and make fun of each other because that’s what we do, and you either rise above it and have fun with it, or get offended because you can’t handle it at which point you should just turn in your man card.”

Chad Johnson joins past Bachelor franchise villains like JJ Lane, Juan Pablo Galavis, Bentley Williams, and Justin “Rated R” Rego, but he may turn out to be the most notorious bad boy yet. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, long-time Bachelorette host Chris Harrison teased that this season’s villain could be the most hated guy ever to appear on the long-running reality franchise.

Take a look at the video below for more on Chad Johnson on The Bachelorette.

[Image via Chad Johnson/Instagram]