Bachelor Clayton Echard apologizes for sending Elizabeth home but keeping Shanae who cruelly taunted her ADHD struggle

BACHELOR star Clayton Echard has apologized for keeping Shanae Ankney on the show despite her “cruel taunts” towards contestant Elizabeth Corrigan, whom he sent home.

The contestant has been accused of mocking Elizabeth’s ADHD diagnosis, sparking a fan backlash.

Clayton, 28, took to on Tuesday to share an apology for his choice to eliminate Elizabeth and keep Shanae.

The reality star claimed he was unaware of the “petty drama” that took place between the two girls, and said sorry for the “damage” that he caused.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, for what you’re going through. I wish I could’ve seen what was happening when I wasn’t there,” he began.

“I obviously knew y’all weren’t in a good place with each other, but I thought at the time that it was solely petty drama.”

Clayton continued: “I would’ve sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known.

“Overall, the experience of me watching hasn’t been fun, simply because I’m seeing all of the damage that I’ve caused.

“I really meant well but my actions weren’t always the best as I now can see the repercussions from my decisions,” he claimed.

“I can promise you I’m learning from the mistakes though and am doing everything in my power to come out the other side a better man,” the Bachelor star closed.

CRUEL MOCKERY

Clayton’s apology followed fan backlash over Shanae’s brutal “mocking” of Elizabeth’s ADHD diagnosis.

The controversial scene aired during Monday’s episode of the ABC dating competition show.

During the latest episode of The Bachelor, Shanae made it clear that she was not there to make friends.

After pushing other contestants during an obstacle course race and being rude to the other women, Bachelor Nation fans finally had enough with her when she pulled leading man Clayton Echard aside to tell him that Elizabeth was the “one red flag” in the house. 

When Elizabeth confronted Shanae and asked her why she said that, Shanae said it’s “because you act one way to me, like a friend, and then completely ignore me the next conversation.”

Elizabeth then calmly explained that she has been diagnosed with ADHD and was not ignoring Shanae, but instead was focusing on whoever was talking to her.

Shanae then had a meltdown and mocked Elizabeth for her diagnosis to her face, behind her back and told the entire cast about it.

The controversial contestant sarcastically said her own inappropriate behavior was okay because she “also has ADHD.”

FAN BACKLASH

Viewers had enough with Shanae, as many took to Twitter to slam the contestant for her remarks.

One angry fan wrote: “Sitting here actually furious at Shanae for trying to demonize Elizabeth for her ADHD. How DARE YOU.”

Another added: “As someone with ADHD, making someone feel ignored in a conversation is one of my biggest fears while interacting in groups. Shenae had to go and invalidate Elizabeth after Elizabeth explained and apologized for ignoring her.”

While quoting Shanae, one Bachelor fan commented: “’Everyone has ADHD. Little kids have ADHD’ her attempt to discredit ADHD as legitimate challenge children AND adults face was hard to watch.”

Others slammed the show for airing Shanae’s comments, as one person wrote: “Very disappointed the Bachelor didn’t put up a full screen about mental health after that episode. Especially after Shenae made fun of it and laughed about it.”

Another added: “Did you know people with adhd are more 3 times likely to form depression than adults without adhd? Sad to see that the bachelor decided to use someone mocking adhd for more drama!”

An additional critic commented: “Hey , we probably shouldn’t be mocking ADHD. This is a bad/harmful storyline.”

The backlash toward the show continued as another viewer penned: “I’m shocked that the producers even let that ADHD conversation/conversations air.”