The Bachelor 's First Impression Rose Recipient Greer Blitzer Apologizes for Defending Blackface Costume
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Craig Sjodin/ABC
The Bachelor's Greer Blitzer is issuing an apology after facing some major backlash for her past actions.
On Tuesday, the 24-year-old medical sales rep — who received the First Impression Rose from Bachelor Zach Shallcross during Monday's premiere — addressed the comments she had made defending Blackface years prior in a statement on Instagram.
"The journey to love is filled with lessons and these lessons are also made on our journey of growth. In my past, I have made some uneducated, ignorant and frankly, wrong comments on my social media accounts," the Texas native wrote on her Instagram Stories. "In particular, I used misguided arguments on Twitter to defend a student who dressed in Blackface as Tupac for Halloween."
"I am deeply sorry to those I have hurt, especially those within the Black community, not because these screenshots have resurfaced, but because I ever shared these harmful opinions at all, she continued. "Time and age do not excuse my actions, but this is not a reflection of who I am today."
greer blitzer/instagram
In October, a Reddit user shared screenshots of Blitzer supporting a fellow teenager who was facing scrutiny for wearing Blackface at a party.
"The students involved didn't even know what black face was so my point exactly. It wasn't an intentional racist act," Blitzer allegedly wrote on Twitter at the time.
In another Tweet, she allegedly wrote: "This previous incident was dumb not racist? She did not paint herself black because she felt superior to black ppl."
She later added, "Putting white powder on your face isn't okay either. That didn't make the news did it? I apologize if this offended you but you must understand it was not initially supposed to be perceived that way at all."
Ricky Middlesworth/ABC
On Tuesday's episode of the PEOPLE Every Day podcast, Shallcross, 26, opened up about his decision to give Greer the first impression rose.
"With Greer, she had this calming effect on me. I'm back at the mansion and there's the cameras and I'm meeting 30 new women, and it's a lot to take in," Shallcross told PEOPLE Every Day host Janine Rubenstein. "And so when you meet someone that can bring that comfort level and allow you to not be so caught up in your head — it was very relaxed with her."
Shallcross has not yet commented on Greer's alleged past actions.
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The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
