Victoria Fuller of ‘The Bachelor' Apologized for ‘White Lives Matter' Campaign Before Cosmo Drama

"I'm sorry if you or anyone else's feelings were hurt," Fuller wrote on Instagram

Victoria F., a contestant on the 24th edition of ABC's reality series "The Bachelor."
ABC/Randy Holmes

Victoria Fuller has come under fire for wearing "White Lives Matter" merchandise in a past modeling campaign. 

The resurfaced advertisement was apparently for a marlin conservation group. The picture showed "The Bachelor" contestant donning a "WLM" hat. Another photo showed a model wearing a T-shirt with a Confederate flag and fish on it, and a third shot showed a model donning a T-shirt with the words "White Lives Matter."

"The company 'We Love Marlins' is in support of catching white, blue & black marlins and releasing them back into the wild," Fuller wrote on Instagram last month. "In regards to a sensitive topic, I come from a very diverse background & am in support of all races! Virginia Beach is a VERY large fishing town where marlin tournaments are held every year! Glad to clear this up."

While Fuller has remained tight-lipped since the backlash began, she did issue an apology after the Instagram account @bachelorclues shared the photos. 

"I'm sorry if you or anyone else's feelings were hurt," she wrote in the comments section after being criticized by a follower. "That was never my intention."

She also acknowledged how she could "definitely see how this could be offensive."

"I apologize immensely," she wrote in a separate comment. "It was never my intention to lessen this matter."

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Earlier this week, fans watched Fuller win a digital Cosmopolitan magazine cover during a group date photoshoot competition. But after the photos from Fuller's past campaign resurfaced, the magazine decided to pull the cover.

"Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the 'Cosmo' brand," editor-in-chief Jessica Pels, who selected Fuller for the cover before the ad resurfaced, wrote in part of a letter. "We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color."

"The Bachelor's" Peter Weber recently defended Fuller during an interview with Build. The season 24 star said he didn't "really know many facts about the whole situation" and that he could only speak on the time they spent together.

"I truly enjoyed my experience with her," he said. "I really feel like she's, you know, a good person and she's got a lot of endearing qualities." 

He also said he hoped "people can form their opinion on her based on what they see between the two of us and her time on the show."

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