In wake of Grant Ellis and Juliana Pasquarosa’s recent breakup, The Bachelor‘s Zoe McGrady and other Season 29 contestants are joining the “C’mon now!” club and publicly calling the former lead out on TikTok.
Since his controversial breakup with runner-up Litia Garr in Season 29’s finale — and more recently his split with Pasquarosa — Ellis has frequently come under fire from Bachelor Nation on social media. The latest chapter in the TikTok saga unfolded after McGrady, Ellis’ third runner-up, reposted a video that read: “Grant Ellis talking about how he will not be rekindling with his exes as if any one of them is even interested in that.”
In response, Ellis addressed her repost in a now-deleted video, and McGrady posted a response titled, “5 minutes of months of thoughts” during which she “read him to filth,” as a commenter noted.
In the video, McGrady bashed Ellis for “disrespecting” her and other Season 29 contestants after filming, claimed he supports MAGA and Chris Brown, accused him of clout chasing, and much more.
“Treating people well while filming does not negate the behavior that you’ve done since to disrespect every single one of us, but especially me, your runner up, and even your fiancé,” McGrady, who’s set to appear on Bachelor in Paradise Season 10 explained. “I have been nothing but genuine to the moment I stepped foot out. I’ve had my problems, I’ve had my insecurity, but unlike some people, I didn’t go in with catchphrases. I didn’t go in with the game plan, and you knew that, and so to continue to be trying to put on a narrative that I was problematic on these podcasts that you were on because of some weirdo PR campaign, because you were so desperate to take the heat off of you instead of protecting the women. You can try to gaslight America, but you’re not going to gaslight me.”
McGrady went on to address a rumor that no one in Season 29’s cast likes her, saying that she’s friends “with almost every single woman on the cast” despite early tension that occurred when she stole him for 30 minutes of one-on-one time during a group date. “You knew that I got called a bitch, a piece of shit, insecure, and all of these names within 12 hours of filming. I experienced the worst PTSD of my life as a strong woman who’s come from a super toxic household,” she shared. “That was one of the worst experiences of my life, and I stayed in it because I thought you were a good person…I was getting a bunch of online hate because you had no backbone to stand up for your contestants.”
McGrady also listed the reasons why she “would never date someone” like Ellis in real life, saying, “I don’t support people who support MAGA. I don’t support people who defend Chris Brown, a well-known women abuser. I don’t support men who want to promote violence. You’re trying to threaten Tyler Cameron to a fight?” She even referenced a video Ellis posted a week ago, in which he said, “Let’s talk about how Bachelor Nation fans are extremely prejudice? I’m a player? I’m this, I’m that, no. I’m Black. I’m Black as hell.”
“You’re weaponizing being Black when it’s convenient for you?…You wanted to have light-skinned Mondays, you had a bunch of Black women on your cast,” McGrady said. “It’s giving colorists and it’s giving opportunist, when it’s convenient for you.” The Season 29 contestant didn’t stop there…
McGrady took shots at Ellis for trying to “drop a rap career” with his song “Party Girl” when his season premiered and called him out for trying to join Dancing with the Stars days after his engagement ended, saying, “It’s almost as if you were the one chasing clout and not me.” The Season 29 contestant went a step further to highlight several ways in which Ellis “disrespected” Pasquarosa after their engagement and said he was “being two completely different people.” Before wrapping her five-minute reflection, she said, “Why don’t you take a few beats and stand on business, or just don’t stand on anything at all? So put some respect on my name and keep it out of your mouth.”
In response to the video, Ellis’ ex and former Bachelorette lead Jenn Tran commented, “Speak your truth queen!” And Garr, who’s currently selling merch that promotes her classic finale zinger, “C’mon now!”, wrote, “Part 2 when?” Other Season 29 contestants have also gotten in on the TikTok drama since the finale aired, so on June 30, Ellis posted a lengthy response to McGrady.
“I just wanted to get on here and discuss some of the speculation that’s going on surrounding me and my time as The Bachelor. This is for me to get my perspective [out there],” the Season 29 lead said in a nearly 7-minute TikTok defense. “I understand your perspective, and why some of y’all may not like me, which probably is a valid reason. I understand that. Maybe some things were taken the wrong way, or maybe it’s some of the way that I’ve came across and, you know, I take full responsibility for that. But I also want you guys to hear my point and know that I’m able to, admit my wrongs. I just wanna be transparent.”
On the topic of his breakup, Ellis explained, “Obviously, I’m still hurt. Confused. But I respect each and every person’s right to know what they want and obviously we both agreed to end the relationship. That hurts, especially when you love somebody — and I still love Juliana. It doesn’t just go away. I care very much, and we had a real connection, real conversation, and there was real love there. And I love her family very much still deeply.”
The Season 29 lead said that his song “Party Girl” wasn’t about the women in the house and maintained his right to “pursue a hobby” amidst his Bachelor fame. He also went on to address McGrady’s “light-skinned Monday” comments and quickly shut down support of domestic violence and MAGA.
“In regards to Chris Brown, I do not support or condone domestic violence at all. I’ve never had an example where anybody, any man in my life, had ever hit a woman, and I would never hit a woman. I would never lay my hands on any woman,” Ellis said before shedding additional light on his decision to still support Brown’s music and touching on politics. “About the MAGA stuff, this is a big thing. I’m not MAGA. I really don’t have any political views. I’m not conservative. I’m not a Democrat. I’m not a Republican. I’m kind of just in the middle ground. I want people to kill it, you know? I want people to thrive…”
Before signing off, Ellis issued a plea to his followers and members of Bachelor Nation. “If you watch this whole video, whether you hate me or love me, or whether you told me to get the fuck off the screen or not, I just wanna say thank you. I never meant to hurt anybody, especially ladies in my season. I never meant to lead anybody on, and I know that’s a narrative out there,” Ellis said. “I tried to approach each and every relationship as if they were the person that I was gonna be with, and I’ve never dated 25 women at once before. I’ll never do it again. I’m just looking for my person, and I’m gonna take my time. And I hope that, you know, anybody watching this video could see that. And if not, I respect your opinion, and it’s peace and love.”
So will Ellis’ response mark the end of the Bachelor Season 29 TikTok feuds? Or will McGrady or other women from the season weigh in again? Keep your eyes peeled, keep your For You Pages refreshed, and tune in to Bachelor in Paradise Season 10 to see if Ellis’ season is addressed.
Bachelor in Paradise Season 10 premieres Monday, July 7 on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.