Reality contestant halts bullying from her female castmates: "Can you stop?"

Reality television isn't exactly known for its wholesomeness or promotion of acceptable social behavior. And that's because viewers are ready to lap up the bottom-barrel drama that any series' most self-absorbed, self-destructive, and blindingly arrogant/ignorant personalities can drum up for ratings.

And when it comes to petty behavior, relationship-themed reality TV almost always takes the cake.

Remember Flavor of Love, when someone, mid conversation, audibly prayed to God to give them the strength to not lay a beating on another contestant, or when someone got so drunk they defecated on a staircase, or any time a woman who actually went by the name of New York (Tiffany Pollard) opened her mouth? OK, well, it's still hard not to get a kick out of this, but my goodness is this petty.

Although producers have stopped trying to make a competition where Flavor Flav is the prize, "finding true love" shows are still going strong, and so are the petty squabbles that arise on them, just ask any contestant on any season of The Bachelor.

And while castmates are more than willing to turn on the hate switch and trade bottom-level barbs on camera, there's one contestant this season that's winning over fans: Katie Thurston.

Sarah Trott made what Yahoo called a "surprise exit" from the show, but it was Katie's response to Sarah's departure that had so many people enamored with the woman: she urged the rest of the castmates to "stay classy."

She stuck to that vow when other members of the team continually talked smack about Sarah, namely Victoria Larson, who said of the recently departed contestant: "the trash took itself out."

Katie wasn't a fan of that comment, telling Sarah, "Can you stop? Seriously. She's gone. There's no point to keep talking about her or saying negative things." 

She continued to keep her pride intact when four new women were introduced to the house in an attempt to capture the heart of Matt James. While the "OG" house members all gave the newbies the cold shoulder, Katie wasn't having it.

"I get it, we're entitled to our feelings, but at the end of the day, they live with us, and I would hate to be on their side of this. And so the continuous, like, digs, at some point, we gotta kind of get over it and welcome them into the house a little bit."

While some may argue that the idea of maintaining "class" is impossible in a reality TV series that honestly tries to convince viewers that individuals who are willing to sell out the most private, intimate aspects of their lives and turning "true love" into a competition, one that promotes cat-fights among women vying for a man's attention, there are people who are applauding Katie's behavior nonetheless.

Fans of the series are even clamoring for Katie to become the next Bachelorette for her behavior as they want to see more of her and the way that she carries herself on TV, calling her a good example of someone who is able to maintain equanimity and a high personal standard despite being on a "sleazy" reality television series.

What do you think of Katie's behavior in the show? Or are you more into the skullduggery of Big Brother contestants?

This article was originally published on January 27, 2021. It has since been updated.