ABC exec defends use of unedited Bachelor footage, says Arie Luyendyk Jr. wasn't forced to break up on camera

ETonline

ABC reality chief Robert Mills explains the decision to show the finale breakup in real time using a split screen: "Once we saw the footage it was a two-second thing," he says. "Instant. We really needed everyone to see this and have kind of the same reaction we were having. It's like the old saying, there's three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth. And no one's lying. And that's sort of the case here, where the more of that that we can capture, so everyone can actually see it, and not say, 'Well, I said this,' 'No, actually I said this.' Last night, there was no doubt as to what went down there, between Arie and Becca. You now know everything, whether you agree with it, or disagree with it. You see it all, and you're able to make your decision on how you feel about it." On the accusations that Arie was forced to break up on camera, Mills says "of course he could have done it off camera if he wanted to," adding: "You can't force somebody into doing something."

ALSO:

• The finale looked even more horrible through the dark lens of the #MeToo era
• Anti-Arie Lyuendyk Jr. billboards went up in Los Angeles and Minnesota
• Zach Braff tweets: "I don’t wanna look like this f*cker anymore"
• Erin Andrews is live-tweeting The Bachelor finale, but is holding back her true feelings because "my Fox boss would kill me"
• The Bachelor finale announces the next Bachelorette...