Don't mess with Bachelor Nation.
Don't mess with Bachelor Nation.
Kelly Ripa found herself on the receiving end of Bachelor fans' wrath after calling the ABC dating series "creepy" and "gross" on Tuesday's episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan -- and now Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss and host Chris Harrison have weighed in.
"Look out #BachelorNation @KellyRipa is coming after you and your 'disgusting' Monday night habit," Harrison tweeted on Tuesday night.
Fleiss added, "Easy, @KellyRipa ... #TheBachelor franchise pays your salary!" Live With Kelly and Ryan is produced and distributed by ABC, which also airs the Bachelor and its spinoffs. ET has reached out to ABC for comment.
Look out #BachelorNation @KellyRipa is coming after you and your “disgusting” Monday night habit. https://t.co/pcAw0MtPOr
— Chris Harrison (@chrisbharrison) May 15, 2019
Ripa didn't hold back her criticism of the Bachelor franchise during her conversation with co-host Ryan Seacrest on Tuesday. "You guys, you know how I feel about the show, it disgusts me," she said after admitting she thought this season's Bachelorette was Colton Underwood's final pick, Cassie Randolph, and not Hannah Brown.
"I can't stand the idea of 25 exceptional women fighting over one ordinary fella, in my opinion. You know how I feel, ladies, we are too special to be arguing over a guy," she continued -- calling out her applauding audience for tuning into the show. "Having said that... All of you women watch that gross, gross show."
Ripa doesn't like The Bachelorette any more than The Bachelor. After The Bachelor first premiered in 2002, "I was like, 'How come they don't have a woman with men fighting over her? How come they don't do that show?'" she recalled to Seacrest.
The Bachelorette premiered in 2003 -- but didn't win Ripa over. "I found that show just as creepy but in a completely different way," she said. "I was like, 'Ew, eww, ewww.'"
Ripa's comments come just days after Wanda Sykes also slammed the Bachelor franchise during an interview with ET -- though the shows have plenty of other celebrity fans (including Seacrest).
Ripa's Live co-host has offered up his commentary on the show several times over the years, while Dakota Fanning, Jenny McCarthy, Charlize Theron, John Mayer, Allison Williams, Sarah Hyland, Kaley Cuoco and January Jones are all big fans as well. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis even made an appearance on Rachel Lindsay's season of The Bachelorette in 2017.
Watch below, and join ET's Bachelor Nation Facebook group here.
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