Why Does Everyone Hate Luke Parker on 'The Bachelorette'?

Luke Parker, one of Hannah Brown's faves from her Bachelorette season thus far, has also made viewers cringe with some aggressive behavior on camera. That feeling, based on previews, is only going to intensify as the season goes on. So what's going on, exactly? Here's the low-down of what we know about Luke's interactions on the show so far.

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(Image credit: John Fleenor)

Spoilers for The Bachelorette ahead. Luke Parker, one of Hannah Brown's faves from her Bachelorette season thus far, has also made viewers cringe with some, uh, let's call it aggressive behavior on camera. That feeling, based on previews, is only going to intensify as the season goes on. So what's going on, exactly? Here's what we know about Luke's interactions on the show so far.

Here's my caveat here: As Reality Steve (famed Bachelor-verse expert) notes, the producers are by now extremely talented at manipulating our allegiances and giving us certain "edits" on bachelors to get us invested in the show. Villains might not be villains, and vice versa. So, bear that in mind—there might be a number of non-aggressive footage that the producers decided not to show us.

Plus, we know Luke makes it far into the show, so he can't be quite this one-note or Hannah would have already sent him packing. 

He climbed on top of the limo and roared at Hannah.

Right from the jump Luke out-extraed all the other bachelors there (except maybe the farmer driving in on a tractor, and the fence jumper, oh and the box king. There was a lot of craziness happening episode 1.) by clamboring on top of the the limo and rawring at Hannah. I have many questions: How did he get up there? Was it awkward? Did Hannah just have to wait?

He told her he was king of the jungle. 

He wants her to be his queen, it's playful banter, I get it...but the point of the show is Hannah Beastiness, not bachelor beastiness.

He said he was falling in love...on date 2.

The other bachelors provided majestic side-eye when Luke stood up on the group date (it was a Mr. Right pageant) and as his "talent" professed he was falling in love with Hannahbama.

He did really well on the rest of the pageant, though, and actually won:

Hannah told him to back off.

Now, Hannah hasn't taken crap from anyone this season, even when she might be in doubt (see also: Scott maybe or maybe not having a girlfriend, Cam maybe or maybe not trying to get a pity rose). But in episode 3, she told him to wait his turn to talk to her, told him his was being aggressive, and even just straight up told him to simmer down. Luke seemed like he took the hint? For now.

The other guys do not like him.

Fans have noted on Reddit that this is an unusual season in that the other bachelors seem, almost uniformly, to dislike Luke. Some of the other bachelors have spoken out about him even after leaving the show. "[He] was one of those guys I distanced myself from in the house...I just got a weird vibe from him," Cam Ayala explained after being eliminated in episode 3.

Even he's kind of embarrassed by his behavior.

Luke got real on social media following, probably, a bunch of backlash from fans about his seemingly controlling behavior in episode. "I want you all to know how hard it has been for me to watch myself this season so far," he said. "I have learned a lot and I am continuing to learn about my flaws as a man."

There are more previews of him yelling and getting called a whole bunch of names.

"Psychopath," "pathological liar," karma being a bitch, and Luke screaming and getting physical. It's so crazy, y'all. It's all going down this season. 

It's also believed that the two Lukes, Stone and Parker, are the ones who get into a fight during the rugby match, and Luke S. felt that Luke P. was particularly aggressive and rough with him—leading him to reportedly quit the show before the rose ceremony of episode 4.

And Reality Steve speculates that Luke P. might be the bachelor giving Hannah grief for being with multiple men in the trailer (the producers haven't specified, exactly, so that's not verified yet). But, spoiler alert, there's some rumors around him and issues with the overnight dates, so that might be when and where that conversation potentially takes place, if he is the bachelor in question. You can read full spoilers here.

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Katherine J. Igoe
Contributor

Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.