Cosmo pulls "Bachelor" cover over contestant's past "White Lives Matter" themed modeling campaign
On "The Bachelor" Monday night, fans watched the contestants compete in a photoshoot challenge with a huge reward. The woman who did the best at the photoshoot would be on the digital cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine.
But if you're looking for "The Bachelor" cover star, you're not going to find her photos. Cosmo decided not to put the winner, Victoria Fuller, on their digital cover after it was discovered she had worn controversial attire in a previous modeling campaign.
In a letter, Editor-in-chief Jessica Pels explained the mystery of the cover star that never was. Pels said that because details of "The Bachelor" are kept under lock, her team didn't know who they'd even be working with until they arrived on set.
When they arrived to the shoot they finally met the contestants and judged them based on their photoshoot skills.
"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," Pels wrote in the letter published Monday night – during the airing of "The Bachelor."
"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," Pels' letter continued.
Pels explained that Fuller modeled for a "Marlin Lives Matter" organization, The White Marlin Marina. The organization used "White Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" messaging on its promotional shirts and hats, Pels wrote.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, White Lives Matter is a "racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter" and a "neo-Nazi group that is growing into a movement as more and more white supremacist groups take up its slogans and tactics."
Images captured by a fan and posted to social media show some of the the White Marlin Marina apparel also features Confederate flag imagery.
"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," Pels wrote.
"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," the editor-in-chief wrote, adding that the photos from "The Bachelor" shoot were already printed in the magazine's March print issue.
"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," Pels concluded her letter.
Fuller, who goes by "Victoria F." on the show, has not post anything on her social media pages about the photoshoot.
CBS News has reached out to ABC for comment about Cosmo's decision to pull the photoshoot.
