More than 25,000 people have signed a petition calling for Colton Underwood's new show to be canceled.
The Change.org petition was created in response to harassment allegations against Underwood.
The former "Bachelor" star's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Randolph, filed a restraining order against him in 2020. She accused Underwood of harassing and stalking her and claimed he had put a tracking device on her car. Underwood later told TMZ that they had resolved the issue.
"The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address any of Cassie's concerns," he said. "I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith. I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy regarding this matter."
Last week Underwood came out as gay to "Good Morning America." Days later, Variety reported that he would be getting his own reality TV series — a show which the petition said should not happen because Underwood did not deserve a platform.
"Colton is a former 'Bachelor' lead who stalked his final pick, Cassie Randolph," the petition claimed. "He placed a tracker on her car, sent her and her friends anonymous threatening texts, and was even seen standing outside her window extremely late in the night, resulting in her brother attempting to de-escalate the situation."
The petition further stated that Randolph was a "victim" of Underwood's abuse.
"Regardless of his sexuality, Colton should not be given a platform as a result of his abusive, manipulative, and dangerous behavior," it concluded.
Speaking with "GMA," Underwood apologized to Randolph and admitted that he did love her, which made everything more difficult for him.
"I would like to say sorry for how things ended. I messed up. I made a lot of bad choices," he said.
"I loved everything about her," he added. "I wish that I would’ve been courageous enough to fix myself before breaking anyone else."
Underwood further admitted he regretted appearing in "The Bachelor," because he may have hurt other women contestants by misleading them into believing he was straight.
"Do I regret being 'The Bachelor?' Do I regret handling it the way that I did? I do. I do think I could’ve handled it better. I just wish I wouldn’t have dragged people into the mess of figuring out who I was," he said.
"But I can sit here and say I’m sorry to all of those women, and I can also say thank you because without them and without 'The Bachelor' franchise I don’t know if this would’ve come out."
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