Joey Graziadei is plugged into Bachelor Nation’s commentary.
Us Weekly brought up the 28-year-old’s various viral moments on Thursday, February 22, starting with his remarks that Malta, where the group traveled during week 4 of the season, is a city with an “old-school vibe.”
“I’ve seen a lot of these different things and what I think about it is what we’re talking about, which is people are invested. I’m OK being the butt of jokes at certain points. As for the old-school vibes, I knew Malta was an old place. I didn’t know that it was going to get judged as much as it did, but you got to laugh through it,” Joey told Us.
That same week, Joey went viral off screen when he mixed up Gypsy Rose Blanchard — who was recently released from prison after serving time for second-degree murder for killing her mother who made her believe she was ill for the majority of her life — and late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“The RGB thing, that’s on me. I’ll take that. I know that was on me,” Joey said. (He later apologized and made it clear he knew the difference between the two women.)
A third topic that has gotten some attention is concerns about an apparent discoloration of Joey’s eyes. Viewers have taken to social media while the show is airing to question if Joey may have an undisclosed health issue.
“The eyes thing, I actually am probably going to post a video a little bit more about that later on and I can give some more insight,” Joey told Us. “There is something behind that and I’ll use the right space to be able to talk through that.”
Despite any offscreen goofs or social media chatter, it’s clear Joey is helping bring back The Bachelor as ratings are higher than they’ve been in years and the women on his season are reaching social media followings at a rate that hasn’t happened since Matt James’ season in 2021.
When Us told Joey that he should take some credit for the success of the franchise, he remained humble.
“I appreciate you saying that. In my nature, it’s never my way to take credit,” he told Us. “ I’ll always look at the other outside factors and I think the women have just been amazing. I think what people have probably been more invested in the season is they feel the realness. They feel actually people that are trying to get to know each other. They feel that there actually [are] real stories that are starting to build and people are invested, but also the women are invested and I think that’s great to see.”
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, with promises of an “unprecedented ending” to air in March.
