Lee Garrett - Bachelorette 13 - **Sleuthing Spoilers**

mercieme wrote:@emusha thanks for posting. I am so happy Sharleen is speaking up, she is such a rockstar IMO. And I know someone on the forum predicted they were going to cast a racist on the show but I was so skeptical that TPTB would stoop that low but it pretty stinks that they had to drag it on those guys in the house.....all jmo.

mercieme wrote: snipped...

@Sprite....thanks for noting it was you that posted about the Lee script. I do think IMO that the worst that Rachel would get is the uproar over Lee and also when she sends all the MOCs home as speculated. But IMO so far she has handled things well, at least she let production take over her Episode write up for Monday so she is picking her battles. But I expect her to set things straight on next Monday's episode write up after Lee is sent home but if she doesn't yeah I expect some IMO justified SM backlash for her; no excuse for what Lee did to those guys IMHO....all jmo.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Garrett ahead of The Bachelorette season premiere about how he came to land a spot on the history-making season. The aspiring singer said he was approached by the show — something veteran casting director Lacey Pemberton had previously told THR is a common way to recruit cast members. When detailing the year-long casting routine, Pemberton explained that her team takes submissions, holds events and has recruiters out looking for people who might be a good fit for the lead. "It’s quite a process," she said.

See how Garrett pitched himself to THR below.
When and why did you decide to audition for The Bachelorette?

I was actually scouted in Nashville. I got a message on Facebook from one of the show scouts saying, “Lee! What would you think if I asked if you would be interested to try out for The Bachelorette?” It kind of shocked me. I thought, “Me?” I had never seen the show before, so I was honest and told them I don’t know much about it and I don’t see myself as the type of guy to really go on a show like that — because you think it’s a bunch of guys that are dashing, and I’m a Mississippi boy. It wasn’t something that I ever thought I’d be doing. But I told them it intrigued me, and then it went from there into six months of interviews and all kinds of things.

Did you know Rachel was cast as the Bachelorette before or after you accepted?

I did not know before, and I didn’t know any of the process. I didn’t know who it was going to be. I knew a few people who had been on the season before me, being from Nashville, because it’s a small town. You kind of run into people that have done it in the past and hear stories. I watched Nick’s season, so I got to know the people from watching. I got a phone call from one of the casting directors right after Rachel had been announced, and she goes, “So Lee, did you hear about what happened?” I said, “Yes, ma'am.” She asked if I was still interested, and I said, “Absolutely!” They asked me what I thought and I said I had been watching and that Rachel was probably the classiest girl on the season, and it was somethin’ else. Then I started really paying attention to her and who she was and learning things about her. I got more excited as time went by. The final audition went through, we flew out to L.A., and they did the first cuts and everything. It’s wild.

What was your in-person audition process like?

It was just a bunch of questions. A bunch of pictures and videos. You just tell them who you are, and you don’t really know anything past that.

What do you think makes you different from the other guys?

I’m the only guy that says "y’all" in this group and who plays the guitar and sings. And is from Mississippi. And wears a pair of boots. We had one guy that I met that I think had another pair of boots, but there’s only room for one pair of boots here. I am country to the bone. I have manners. I’m the “yes ma’am, no ma’am”-type guy. I’m the kind of guy to open the door for a girl, and I try to be polite. If she likes that kind of stuff, I think that will make me stand out.

ABC declined comment, but franchise host Chris Harrison took to Twitter to say, "No, of course we didn't know about the offensive tweets from Lee's account. None of us were aware of them Very unfortunate." [sic]