Katie Thurston issued an apology to her LGBTQ+ followers.The upcoming season 17 Bachelorette was criticized after she shared a photo of herself getting a kiss on the neck by her friend, Casandra Suarez.
In the since-deleted pic, they are sitting in front of a neon sign that reads «Girls, girls, girls,» per a screenshot taken by Thurston captioned the shot, «Whatever floats your boat,» with a purple heart.
Suarez left a comment that reads, «So did Katie actually end up with me, yes or no?»The post didn't sit well with members of the LGBTQ+ community, with Thurston later taking the photo down and expressing that the photo was not meant to question her sexuality.«I did not intend for this picture to be a statement about my sexuality.