TV & Movies

The Bachelorette’s Self-Pleasure Abstinence Challenge Is TMI For Twitter

The Bachelorette has officially become Too Hot To Handle.

by Erica Campbell
Katie challenged her 'Bachelorette' contestants to abstain from masturbation. Photo via ABC
ABC

The contestants are six episodes into Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, and as if finding the love of your life wasn’t difficult enough, she decided to give Season 17’s men another challenge. At the beginning of the episode, Katie sits down with co-host Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe, telling them she wants to see if the men in the house can abstain from um... self-pleasure for a challenge named “operation WOWO.”

Katie first tells her mentors, "I kind of had this idea I thought would be fun, where the guys in the house all have to agree to withhold their self-care as long as possible. If you know what I mean.” That's when Kaitlyn asks, “So, like, not do their skincare routine?" with Tayshia innocently adding, "Like, no shaving?" Finally, Katie shares the intimate details behind the challenge, explaining, "Uh, we're going a little deeper than that,” adding, "A little friendly handshake with themselves [is] off-limits." In short: The men have to abstain from masturbating.

Naturally, Twitter had feelings about it.

First off, they wondered if they’ve accidentally tuned into Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle.

Some fans immortalized some of the guys’ very questionable but also very memeable reactions to the challenge.

Twitter also had thoughts on Blake Moynes’ shower habits, which became a topic of debate.

Other fans felt sorry for Connor Brennan’s eighth-grade class, who might have been watching from home.

Many of the tweets came from viewers who found the challenge a bit over the top and unnecessary, writing, “It is like they are trying to get us to stop watching.”

The topic of sex positivity, which has been a central theme this season, was also brought up. Specifically, viewers questioned whether or not “operation WOWO” actually made sense in that context.

Others likened the challenge to a prank producers were playing on the contestants.

And one fan summarized what pretty much all of Bachelor Nation on Twitter was thinking: weird.