Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty; RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
“There have been some recent stories about me that have garnered attention and I want to address them,” Dottavio wrote in a lengthy note shared on his Instagram Story on Friday.
He added: “Did I do things in college that I would be embarrassed about now? Absolutely. Was I a part of my culture, the times, movies? Yes.”
Dottabio went on to share that he has “grown as a person since college” and is “not the man I was 2 years ago let alone 14 years ago.”
“It’s important for women to speak out if they felt uncomfortable or harassed. I support that,” he continued. “If there was anyone I made feel uncomfortable why not come to me? I would love an opportunity to right my wrongs and speak to any woman that wants to tell me how and when I made them feel uncomfortable.”
“I want to take this an an opportunity to better myself and the treatment of women in my life,” he concluded.
Leandro Dottavio/Instagram
Martinez claimed she was sent those messages after sharing an image of a comment Dottavio made on an old Instagram photo, writing to a woman: “You need my big d—.”
“Some great guys from this season” she wrote on her Instagram Story, alongside a screenshot of the comment.
Martinez previously told theNew York Postthat she first saw the screenshot of the comment on Reddit, where it had been circulating since May. However, Dottavio told the same outlet that the comment had been photoshopped.
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Last month, Lincoln Adim, another contestant from Kufrin’s season of the popular ABC franchise, wasconvicted of indecent assault and battery— just days before the seasonpremiered.
Adim was found guilty on May 21 of indecent assault and battery for groping and assaulting an adult female on a harbor cruise ship on May 30, 2016, Press Secretary Jake Wark of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office previously told PEOPLE.
According to Wark, Adim was sentenced to one year in a house of correction, with that term suspended for a two-year probationary period. However, the judgevacated Adim’s sentenceand allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea in July, according to Boston Patch.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
Adim isn’t the first contestant from Kufrin’s season to come under fire.Garrett Yrigoyen, one of Kufrin’s two finalists,apologizedafter sparkling backlash forliking offensive posts on Instagramthat mocked the trans community, a Parkland high school shooting survivor, undocumented immigrants and more.
The Bachelorettefinale airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
