‘Cosmopolitan’ Removes ‘Bachelor’ Star Victoria Fuller From Cover After She Modeled White Lives Matter Shirt: We Stand In Solidarity w/ Black Lives Matter

Victoria Fuller of “The Bachelor”

‘Cosmopolitan’ Removes ‘Bachelor’ Star Victoria Fuller From Cover After She Modeled White Lives Matter Shirt: We Stand In Solidarity w/ Black Lives Matter

ABC’s “The Bachelor” contestant Victoria Fuller will no longer be gracing the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine’s latest digital issue.

The publication decided to remove her cover after it was revealed that she previously rocked a White Lives Matter shirt for an ad campaign for the Marlin Lives Matter organization. The shirt promoted saving white marlin fish and featured a picture of the fish as well. The company also had a shirt that reads “Blue Lives Matter” to encourage the preservation of blue marlin fish. Still, both come amid the tension between police and the black community as the Black Lives Matter movement was birthed in the heat of police shooting and killing unarmed black men. Blue Lives Matter shortly followed and took the stance that the lives of police officers also matter.

Considering the controversy, Cosmopolitan’s editor-in-chief Jessica Pels released a statement Monday (Feb. 3) to announce that Victoria Fuller would be pulled from the cover.

“If you’re watching The Bachelor tonight, you just saw me and a few key members of the Cosmo team put the contestants through a challenge that, for us, is basically another day at the office: a fashion shoot in extreme conditions under lots of pressure to beat the clock and get the shots we need for the magazine. Of course, this time, there were eight TV cameras, dozens of producers, and a bunch of extremely eager single people in the mix. The stakes were high all around!”

“As you probably know, the details about upcoming plot points on The Bachelor are as closely guarded as nuclear codes. When my team and I flew down to Costa Rica for our challenge, we weren’t told who our models were going to be. We didn’t even meet them until we were all on camera on-set, ready to start our shoot.”

She explained that she had no knowledge of Victoria Fuller’s modeling history when she was selected as the winner.

“So when it came time for me to choose the winner of the challenge—whose prize was a digital cover of Cosmo—all I knew about the contestants were their first names and the energy they conveyed through the camera lens.”

“It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found out that the woman I’d chosen had, in her past, modeled in an ad campaign wearing White Lives Matter attire.”

“(It’s been reported that what she modeled for was actually a Marlin Lives Matter organization focused on preventing white and blue marlin from being overfished, which used “white lives matter” and “blue lives matter” messaging on its promotional shirts and hats. In my view, the nature of the organization is neither here nor there—both phrases and the belief systems they represent are rooted in racism and therefore problematic.)”

Victoria Fuller of “The Bachelor”

She continued,

“Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color.”

“My team and I had many long discussions about how we wanted to address this issue. We’d already printed the fashion shoot in our March issue, complete with an inset of the cover, and of course the episode had already been filmed. Ultimately what felt right was choosing not to publish the digital cover on our website or social feeds, and simply being honest with you, the audience we respect, about what happened and where we stand.”

Victoria Fuller hasn’t publicly responded to the decision.

What are your thoughts on ‘Cosmo’ pulling her from the cover? Tell us in the comments.