'He was so outrageous': Nick Viall slams 'The Bachelor' lead Zach Shallcross for lacking empathy
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'The Bachelor' star Zach Shallcross has encountered the wrath of former lead Nick Viall. After fans criticized the star's on-screen antics, Nick accused him of lacking empathy.
Many viewers questioned Zach's ability to manage conflict after Jess Girod was sent home during the February 27 group date for voicing her dismay at not having a one-on-one date. Jess confessed she was anxious about being the only woman present who hadn't gotten a one-on-one date with Zach. While the number of times she stated it was grating, Bachelor Nation could understand why it was bothering her. Zach, on the other hand, couldn't figure out what the fuss was about, and fans took to social media to let Jess know she wasn't the issue.
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Nick calls out Zach for his 'obtuse' behavior
Nick, the Season 21 lead, shared his views on the perplexing scene with his Twitter followers. "That’s two weeks in a row now Zach was a total d**k to one of the women," he wrote, adding, "It’s literally all about the one-on-one. Zach knows that. He made Jess feel like she messed up for exposing a valid concern."
That’s 2 weeks in row now Zach was a total dick to one of the woman. It’s literally all about the one on one. Zach knows that. He made Jess feel like she messed up for expressing a valid concern. #thebachelor
— Nick Viall (@NickViall) February 28, 2023
The next day, the former reality personality tweeted again to implore Zach to "stop being a d**k".
Stop being a Dick Zach. Recapping #TheBachelor with @ArdenMyrin https://t.co/hPb8gbNFcZ https://t.co/y0FwfICUKI pic.twitter.com/xLoL8Mj1e8
— Nick Viall (@NickViall) February 28, 2023
Nick shared a snippet of his 'The Viall Files' audio episode recap, in which he made a scathing comparison. "He sounded like a guy who, Valentine’s showed up, or her birthday, and he completely missed it. And then she goes to her boyfriend and says, 'That kind of bothered me.' And he says, 'Oh! We'll you could have f**king told me that you wanted a card on Valentine’s Day, that you wanted me to acknowledge your birthday.'"
In his most recent podcast, Nick also chastised Zach for his "obtuse", "oblivious", and "outrageous" behavior. Furthermore, he criticized Zach for having "zero empathy" for Jess' plight. Nick also hinted that there was an 80-90% possibility Zach knew Jess was leaving.
Jess 'definitely' felt 'blindsided'
Following her departure, Jess told Us Weekly exclusively that she was "definitely" blindsided when he sent her home outside a rose ceremony. "Throughout our journey, he always reassured me and validated me," she said of Zach during a recent 'Women Tell All' taping in Los Angeles. "He always told me everything’s gonna be OK and to just kind of hold out, hold on. So as time went on, and I wasn’t getting that special quality time with him, I was definitely in my head of like, ‘What am I missing here? There’s nothing being communicated, that’s wrong.’ So in a way, I saw it coming because it just wasn’t adding it up, but yeah, I definitely was blindsided still."
Despite the fact that things did not work out between Jess and Zach, the e-commerce supervisor chalked it up to a misunderstanding and said there were no bad feelings.
The new episodes of 'The Bachelor' Season 27 air every Monday at 8 pm on ABC.