'Bachelorette' Hannah Brown defends franchise on 'Live' after Kelly Ripa called it 'gross'

Who says Monday nights have a monopoly on TV drama?

ABC's current Bachelorette, Hannah Brown, paid a visit to "Live with Kelly and Ryan" on Thursday, about 48 hours after host Kelly Ripa slammed the reality dating competition as a "creepy" and a "gross, gross show."

"Now you're in the power position, right?" Ripa asked Brown, who was one of the women vying for Colton Underwood's affections in Season 23 of "The Bachelor" earlier this year. "So, take me through that. How does that work?”

Brown said that prior to being cast, she, like Ripa, "didn’t really follow the show, wasn’t a big fan."

But her impression of the show changed once she began filming: "Being a part of the show, it’s not women fighting against each other," she assured Ripa. "Really, some of my best friends came from the show and were really supportive,"

She continued, "When you have a group of 30 people together, there’s gonna be people who don’t like each other. That’s just simple, just facts. But, ultimately, it was one of the most empowering things I ever have done because I had to push myself and grow as an individual, and I did. I think that's why I decided that I wanted to be the Bachelorette."

The controversy began Tuesday when Ripa reacted negatively to co-host Ryan Seacrest's announcement that Brown would be appearing later in the week.

She proclaimed that the show "disgusts" her because she 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."

Kelly Ripa says she's 'disgusted' by 'The Bachelorette': Here's why

Bachelor Nation punched back almost immediately, led by the show's creator Mike Fleiss and longtime host Chris Harrison.

Harrison, who has presided over every season of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," since they premiered, called on his thousands of Twitter followers to take down Ripa.

"Look out #BachelorNation ⁦@KellyRipa⁩ is coming after you and your 'disgusting' Monday night habit," he tweeted Tuesday.

Fleiss warned Ripa to tread carefully, pointing out that her daytime talk show airs on the same network as the long-running dating series: ABC.

"Easy, @KellyRipa … #TheBachelor franchise pays your salary!" he tweeted Tuesday.

"Bachelor" star Colton Underwood also shot back at Ripa's comments.

"How mad is Kelly Ripa going to be when The Bachelor wins an Emmy this year?" he tweeted Wednesday, following up with the hashtag #ThankYouForYourConsideration.

But Ripa had a powerful ally in her corner: Ellen Pompeo, who interrupted her social media hiatus to do so, writing, "Took a break but had to jump back in the ring for my girl."

The "Grey's Anatomy" star, who is one of the highest-paid women on TV, then proceeded to clap back at Fleiss: "Your show does NOT pay @KellyRipa salary. Also we don’t attack successful women on our network and men certainly cannot take credit for their success."

Pompeo then called Fleiss out over his franchise's racial issues with the hashtag "#BachelorSooooWhite" and warned him, "Don’t get me started on your show cuz I’m a savage."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Bachelorette' Hannah Brown defends franchise on 'Live' after Kelly Ripa called it 'gross'