Legal Commentary

Late Night: Bachelorette's Wes Hayden Says "The Gloves Are Off"

By Jeralyn

We've covered politics all day. Time for something different. Country music singer Wes Hayden, who as I've frequently written, is mad as h*ll about the way he was edited on the Bachelorette, is coming out swinging.

Hayden was portrayed as a ruthless player who wasn't on the show to find love, but instead had a secret girlfriend and a larger motive to promote his singing career. Now Hayden says he's on a mission to clear his name. He is denying that he had a girlfriend while taping the show, and he says he's a victim of creative editing. "I signed a contract with them, so I knew they could portray my character any way they saw fit," Hayden said. "But they have totally slandered me and taken my words and put them out of context. They cut, they paste, they left vital sentences out."

Sounds like Wes has lawyered up and a battle may be brewing. I'll bet it's good for both Wes and the show. [More...]

Jillian Harris may have moved on to Ed, Kip or Reid (yes, he may return, remember it's the revolving door season) but Wes is between a rock and a hard place. Either he stays silent and endures hate mail and concert cancellations due to the allegedly phony editing, or he plays David to Goliath and fights back against ABC.

He's got a growing following on Facebook, My Space and Twitter. And, he's ramping up his media interviews.

Hayden has booked interviews in recent weeks with People magazine, the New York Daily News and others. He said he will continue telling his side of his story. "The gloves are off," Hayden said.

From his Facebook page today:

Saturday Night! I need every fan I have (if any! lol) in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to come to the show at Spencers Corner in Fort Worth this Saturday night! Let's show Fort Worth that there ARE people in Fort Worth that understand that this was a "TV" show for ratings. I need fan support on the Fort Worth show! Try to make it!

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 18, 2009 (boomark / email).