Nick Viall said America was "endeared" toKatie Thurston 'ssex positivity on "The Bachelor ."- Thurston, the new "Bachelorette," brought a vibrator on the first night of Matt James' season.
- Viall said society has come a long way since
Kaitlyn Bristowe was sex-shamed on her 2015 season.
"The Bachelorette" is back on our screens, and new star Katie Thurston is being hailed as a beacon of sex positivity.
Thurston first made a splash on the last season of "The Bachelor," when she popped out of the limo with her purple vibrator. The move made Thurston an instant hit with the franchise's fans, including former "Bachelor" star Nick Viall.
"I thought it was amazing and great," Viall told Insider. "Katie did that episode one and, rightly so, America was endeared to the sex positivity."
Viall said he believes that the response to Thurston's limo entrance, and the fact that she's now the star of her own season, is proof that both society and the series have made positive shifts when it comes to conversations about sex.
It was only six years ago that Viall made headlines when Kaitlyn Bristowe had sex with him before the "Fantasy Suite" dates (the overnight-dates week in which off-screen sexual activity is typically expected) during her season of "
Bristowe was shamed by many viewers for the decision, and the former "Bachelorette" star previously revealed she'd even received death threats over it.
"Women told me they'd never want their daughters to look up to me. That I should shut my 'whore legs,'" she wrote in a 2019 essay for Glamour. "I was told I'm disgusting, that I belong in a dumpster, that I'm going to hell."
"A lot of people told me to brush off the shaming. But I don't care how thick your skin is, nobody can do that," she added. "I didn't get out of bed some days. I hated going to the grocery store because I'd see tabloids with headlines like, 'Kaitlyn's Pregnant and Doesn't Know Who the Father Is Because of the Fantasy Suites!'"
But Viall said he believes society, and the show's fans, have come a long way since those days.
"As a society, we have gotten more progressive and understanding and sex-positive, and I think that's a great thing," he said. "And I think the show has seen that and been more comfortable with leaning in that direction."
Thurston told Glamour that she and Bristowe - who cohosted this season of "The Bachelorette" with fellow former lead Tayshia Adams after longtime host Chris Harrison stepped down - discussed what Bristowe went through.
"We definitely talked about it," Thurston said. "You guys are going to see some conversations around that because it is 2021, and it's important we talk about it, especially with our partners."
Thurston also revealed that she was surprised by the positive feedback she has received for being a champion of sex positivity.
"It was interesting because I didn't realize on a grand scale how important this conversation was," she told Variety. "For me, it's how I've just always kind of been, and then to make it a starting conversation for people, it was exciting. And now, I just even encourage it more for women, especially."