From the moment I saw
William Holman's Bachelorette intro package, in which he called himself a romantic "stepping stone" with bad luck in love (and then, to illustrate, he broke an umbrella in the rain), I knew he'd be one of the most memorable characters of the season.
Little did I know that William would turn out to be one of Ashley's biggest disappointments, second perhaps only to Bentley. That might sound harsh, but it's not really bad "luck" if it's your bad
decisions -- like
fake-marrying her, then
publicly shaming her, then crying and running away from her -- that turn a girl from smitten to sickened in a matter of weeks. He didn't earn the nickname "Ding Dong" for nothing.
ABC's newest
Bachelor Pad contestant spoke to the media on a conference call yesterday about
his disastrous roast of Ashley,
why he threw Ben C. under the bus, his "Peter Pan complex" and what's next in his comedy career. Ha!
Oh, William."I know I did a bad thing by throwing one guy down a river. I wouldn't
want to do that to any of the other guys after doing that, because any
of the guys that did have those feelings, after they got the chance to
have a group date or a one-on-one, that feeling was totally gone.
Ashley definitely brings a different feeling out in you and it makes you
believe in the process and really appreciate it. It's just difficult to
be in the house in the beginning not having that kind of date."
On exactly what Ben C. said about online dating:"He was talking about specific online dating sites and I don't want to
reveal those dating sites that he had discussed, but they were dating
sites that he's used before and his words were, "After the show is
over," he was "going to be able to clean up." To me, it didn't sit well
with me, so I felt that she needed to know."
More on why he ratted out Ben C., which he clearly doesn't actually think was a "bad thing" to do:"I did feel like he was insincere. I didn't do it as a way to get him out
of the way. Ben C. is a nice guy, but it was something that he did talk
about. I wouldn't have made anything up like that. I'm not that kind of
person, but I just felt like if she was questioning anyone's integrity
or purpose on the show, that she should know.
[...] It was just me trying to warn her -- to let her know -- and I didn't
know he was going to be sent home like right after I told her about
that. I figured because of the roast and her giving me a second chance,
that she would have sat down and talked with Ben C. a little bit more
about it to find out if he was joking about it, why he was joking that
way."
On his man-crush on Ames:"He's a great guy.
Ames is like no other. He's by far the most interesting person I've ever
met in my life.
I wish we just had a separate show for Ames so everybody could see
really what a standup guy he is, but as far as Ashley's thought and what
they had or anything -- when Ames would come back, he would act like he
never got the chance to talk to her and nothing really happened.
But I saw his date, and they get along great. There's
something about the guy that draws you right in right away and you want
to know more. So I think he got the concussion, but she didn't keep him
around for sympathy or anything like that.
Like I said, there's a presence. There's something about when you're
around Ames, you have to keep him around. There's more to know about the
guy and still a ton more to find out about him."
On what was going through his mind when he ripped into Ashley at the roast:"Why I thought that it was appropriate, I don't know. I thought, "roast,"
and I wasn't even thinking about the outcome. It was just a little bit
of immaturity in me still left. I don't know -- it was a bad idea.
I figured if all the guys were going to roast each other, why not roast
her, and maybe I was thinking that I was trying to win over the guys'
approval and be friends with the guys because I spent to much time with
them. It was definitely a bad move."
On how he still doesn't think he deserved a second chance from Ashley after the roast:"She may not have been in the mood to fight for me, and I can understand
why, because I made her cry. To me, I didn't feel like I deserved
anymore from her because of that."
On telling Ashley that he was a "30-year-old boy," which one reporter called, to my delight, William's "Peter Pan complex":"I just wanted her to know that I want to live life and still have fun
throughout life. The way I said it probably didn't come across the best
way, but I want to stay true to myself, and I don't want to try to be
somebody else to make somebody happy. So, I wanted to be me, and if she
didn't like me for being me, then unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be."
On his burgeoning comedy career after the roast:"It definitely wasn't the finest moment that I've had. But it's funny
because I've had a lot of comics reach out to me and tell me that I
have raw talent and they would like to see with training and some
practice what I can do.
So, it's something that I definitely still want to do whether it's
stand-up or some sketch comedy, but I love comedy. It's something that
is a passion of mine -- to just make people laugh everyday -- I
definitely will continue to do something along that route."
On who is best for Ashley:"The one guy I would pick for Ashley is an outstanding guy in the house.
He's awesome. I mean, he's just a true friend. J.P. is like no other.
J.P. is a great guy, and if I could pick a guy for her, I would pick
J.P."
Bye, William. See you August 8 with the rest of these former
Bachelor(ette) bottom-dwellers I MEAN all-stars!
(Image courtesy of ABC)