That Time Clare Crawley Confided In a Raccoon (Sort Of)
Sure, it didn't really happen, but suspend your disbelief for a moment, mmkay?
One of the great Hall of Fame moments for The Bachelor franchise was when Clare Crawley seemingly confided in a raccoon. Until she was reportedly chosen to be the Bachelorette, six years after entering the franchise on Juan Pablo Galavis' season, it may have been what she was best known for. In the now-viral moment, Crawley sobs to a producer—yes, a producer!—during her first season of Bachelor In Paradise; the moment was edited to make it look like she was opening up to a nearby raccoon. Crawley was a good sport about the admittedly funny video, even pretending to talk to other animals on her next season of Bachelor In Paradise.
Crawley was upset with contestant AshLee Frazier.
So, a little background: On Bachelor In Paradise, Frazier had been talking to another contestant about Crawley's infamous rendezvous with then-Bachelor Galavis (ugh, Galavis), and called Crawley "cuckoo," as well as mocking her for getting intimate in the sea with Galavis (a whole thing). The episode saw Frazier call Crawley a "bitch," though Frazier later denied it:
For example, when I was on Bachelor in Paradise they had me walking away calling Clare a bitch. Never said that. It’s not even my voice. Why do that? I could have come up with something a little sassier or more like me to say something like, “Not really feeling that girl.” I would have owned it. Now you have America mad at me because I called her a bitch. I didn’t say that.
The whole thing was kind of boring, but it did give us the viral raccoon moment, for which I will be forever thankful.
Crawley stormed off and began talking to the "raccoon."
Again: Crawley was obviously talking to a producer, but a raccoon was edited in in the producers' place. Crawley can be heard ranting: "I don't want drama! This is f*cked up, to put me in this situation. This is something that I dreamt about...I don't want to have upset somebody...That creates drama. I don't f*cking drama. Take the date card! It's not worth it to me. This is f*cking drama! This whole sh*t is drama! I don't want this. And then I got bit by fire ants and it, like, it just sucks! I'm so eaten up. I look like I have chicken pox. Look at this!"
The moment was so iconic, it was later reenacted by Tayshia Adams.
People still talk about it.
The moment ranked #3 in ABC's 2016 round-up of the greatest Bachelor moments of all time. When rumors began circulating about Crawley's Bachelorette star turn, fans began wondering if there'd be a throwback to her raccoon days.
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@RealitySteve we can only hope they incorporate the raccoon and/or other animals into @Clare_Crawley ‘s season! Love her sense of humor about it!March 1, 2020
I hope the raccoon comes back if Clare is #TheBacheloretteMarch 1, 2020
I bet at least one of the guys pops out of the limo in a raccoon costume. Can’t wait! #ClareCrawleyBacheloretteFebruary 29, 2020
Clare & the raccoon for #TheBachelorette 😂😂February 29, 2020
Everyone is asking who Clare is, but I don’t know how you forget a person who talked to raccoons, told off Juan Pablo and briefly was engaged to a Canadian with an overwhelming French accent. #TheBacheloretteFebruary 28, 2020
Like I said! Iconic!
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Jenny is the Digital Director at Marie Claire. A graduate of Leeds University, and a native of London, she moved to New York in 2012 to attend the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She was the first intern at Bustle when it launched in 2013, and spent five years building out its news and politics department. In 2018 she joined Marie Claire, where she held the roles of Deputy Digital Editor and Director of Content Strategy before becoming Digital Director. Working closely with Marie Claire's exceptional editorial, audience, commercial, and e-commerce teams, Jenny oversees the brand's digital arm, with an emphasis on driving readership. When she isn't editing or knee-deep in Google Analytics, you can find Jenny writing about television, celebrities, her lifelong hate of umbrellas, or (most likely) her dog, Captain. In her spare time, she also writes fiction: her first novel, the thriller EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD, was published with Minotaur Books (UK) and Little, Brown (US) in February 2024 and became a USA Today bestseller. She has also written extensively about developmental coordination disorder, or dyspraxia, which she was diagnosed with when she was nine. She is currently working on her second novel.
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