Leo Dottavio, who vied for Becca Kufrin’s heart on season 14 of The Bachelorette, addressed the sexual harassment claims against him that were recently reshared by The Bachelor alum Bekah Martinez.
“There have been some recent stories about me that have garnered attention and I want to address them,” the 31-year-old said in a statement posted on his Instagram Story on Friday, August 3. “I want to start by saying no one has ever accused me of sexual harassment. No one has ever come to me in any way and told me I made them feel uncomfortable.”
Dottavio acknowledged that he is “not a perfect person nor have I ever claimed to be.”
“Did I do things in college that I would be embarrassed about now? Absolutely,” he said. “Was I a part of my culture, the times, movies? Yes. I have grown as a person since college. I am not the man I was 2 years ago let alone 14 years ago.”
The Hollywood stuntman concluded, “It’s important for women to speak out if they felt uncomfortable or harassed. I support that. 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 as an opportunity to better myself and the treatment of women in my life.”
Dottavio’s statement comes two days after Martinez, 23, took to her Instagram account to post a series of anonymous claims against him that she received from other women. “To me, it’s not a coincidence that multiple women would be saying similar things about the same person,” she told the New York Post on Thursday, August 2. “There’s no way these women happen to be lying about the same thing before seeing what other women are saying.”
A screenshot of one of Dottavio’s alleged explicit Instagram comments first surfaced online in May. However, he told the New York Post that it is Photoshopped and he has asked his attorney to look into it.
Us Weekly has reached out to ABC and Dottavio for comment.
