Colton Underwood with his family. Photo: Instagram
Former Bachelor star Colton Underwood is fiercely defending his family after an online critic left a disparaging comment about his 20-month-old son, Bishop.
On Tuesday, May 26, the 34-year-old reality alum took to Instagram to share a screenshot of a user’s comment that simply read, “I feel bad for that kid,” underneath a family selfie of Underwood, his husband Jordan C. Brown, and their young son.
Underwood did not hold back in his response, addressing the critic directly in a multi-slide Instagram Story to dismantle the underlying disapproval.
“Genuinely curious what you meant by this,” Underwood wrote.“Because if you ‘feel bad’ for Bishop, I’d love to understand why. He’s loved, supported, celebrated, happy and surrounded by people who show up for him every single day.”
He went on to challenge the use of passive-aggressive rhetoric often leveled against same-sex parents:
“What a child actually needs protection from isn’t a loving family.It’s ‘adults’ who use vague, loaded comments to express disapproval they don’t have the courage to say out loud. Words like yours, ambiguous enough to deny, pointed enough to wound, are exactly how kids learn that who they are is something to be ashamed of. That’s the thing worth feeling bad about.”
Underwood concluded the post by reassuring his followers that his family is doing “great” and thanked the user for the “reminder that this work still matters.”
In the post’s caption, The Traitors star revealed that dealing with public scrutiny and homophobic parenting backlash is a central theme in his upcoming memoir, Dear Bishop.
“Some days they don’t affect me. Other days, they ruin my day,” Underwood admitted to his followers.“Most days, they remind me why sharing my life this publicly is worth it … because somewhere there’s a kid, or a man, who might find comfort or something familiar in my story. That’s what keeps me living openly.”
Underwood, who publicly came out as gay in 2021 after leading Season 23 of The Bachelor, tied the knot with political strategist Jordan C. Brown in May 2023.
The couple welcomed Bishop via gestational surrogate in September 2024 and have recently shared that they hope to expand their family with one or two more children in the future.
